While Deep Inside You're Bleeding
by xFauxdilocksx
Summary: Peyton isn't back for Lucas, but everyone thinks she is. She's slowly loosing Brooke, and feels like she has no-one. Feeling left behind and desperately lonely, Peyton leaves without saying goodbye. Angst/Sad. *WARNING: Contains Self harm and an Eating Disorder* M for later Breyton.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, I know I keep hitting out with new stories all the time, but I just want to get all my ideas out there then I can focus on adding new chapters. ****My fellow authors, you know how it is; when you get an idea in your head you just can't shake it off until it's out there.**

**Anyway, on with the show…**

**Set in season 5 time frame. Peyton isn't back for Lucas, but everyone thinks she is. Everyone has abandoned her because of the feelings they think she has, she's slowly loosing Brooke, and feels like she has no-one left in Tree Hill. Feeling left behind and desperately lonely, Peyton leaves without saying goodbye, leaving only a simple note for Brooke.**

***There will be one or two made up characters in this story, they will be friends of Peyton's from LA.**

***This story will contain some sad and even dark scenes which I plan to write with lots of emotion…I know these things can upset people but I will put a note at the start of any upsetting chapters.**

**Rated M for later chapters.  
**

* * *

While Deep Inside You're Bleeding

"Seriously, she better back off my man or ill be kicking her bulimic ass all the way back to LA where she should have stayed." Lindsay said as they sat around the dining table at Nathan and Haley's, talking about the gang's former friend, Peyton Sawyer, who everyone was convinced had returned from LA to steal Lucas.

"Guys come on, I honestly don't think Lucas is the reason she's home." Brooke tried to defend her best friend from the catty words of the rest of the group.

"I am Lucas, and I even know she's back here to try and get me!" Lucas piped in, laughing slightly.

"Honestly, she told me she isn't and I seriously don't think she is this time. Take it from someone who was caught in the middle of TWO Lucas/Peyton love triangles, I don't think that's her intention here, and I would know." Brooke tried to explain for her friend.

"Brooke, you're her best friend and she screwed you over twice, she's a bitch and you know it!" Haley argued back with conviction.

"Oh but just because Lucas is your best friend he's squeaky clean? Need I remind you he also screwed me over twice…" Brooke looked at Haley with an accomplished smirk, while Lucas held his hands up in surrender.

"Come on Brooke, you know she's not nice." Haley commented.

Brooke sighed; there was no getting them to change their minds about Peyton. Brooke knew Peyton wasn't home for Lucas, after everything that happened in high school Brooke could tell if Peyton was pining for Lucas, and this time she wasn't. But the rest of her friends couldn't seem to see this, and Brooke knew that trying to make them was a lost cause.

"Please, can we change the subject?" Brooke asked, pleading with the rest of the group.

"So Lindsay's birthday drinks tomorrow night. Tric, 8:30, Brooke you in?" Lucas asked, changing the subject at Brooke's request.

"Yeah sure, sounds like fun." Brooke smiled, relived at the change of subject.

* * *

Peyton laid on the couch in the living room of the house she shared with Brooke, a glass of wine in hand, the rest of the bottle on the coffee table, a blanket wrapped around her small figure.

Brooke was out with them...again.

All Peyton wanted was a night to relax and talk and laugh with her best friend, but for the third time this week, Brooke was at Haley's. In fact, for the past month or two it had been the same, Brooke always had somewhere better to be than at home with Peyton.

But at least they had a girl's night arranged for tomorrow night. Wine, pizza, and a movie.

Peyton couldn't wait.

* * *

The next night, Brooke was in the kitchen making a snack when Peyton came home from the office.

"Hey, you're home early." Brooke smiled, as Peyton walked through the front door with a grocery bag in her hands.

"Yeah, well tonight's a special occasion…" Peyton started as Brooke's brows furrowed slightly in confusion. "So for tonight I was thinking lots of wine, pizzas, huge tubs of ice cream, and the notebook since I love a good cry at a movie…" Peyton said with enthusiasm.

Then the ball dropped for Brooke. She'd arranged a girl's night with Peyton, and agreed to go out for Lindsay's birthday.

"God, Peyton…" Brooke started, walking out of the kitchen with an apologetic look on her face.

"You forgot." Peyton said, her voice radiating a sad disappointment.

"Peyton, I'm sorry. It's Lindsay's birthday and we're going to Tric…" Brooke began to explain.

"It's okay," Peyton said quietly, trying to pretend this wasn't bothering her, but she knew the lump in her throat was evident in her voice. She dropped the grocery bag onto the kitchen counter and began to walk towards her bedroom.

"I'll make it up to you P, I promise." Brooke called after her. Peyton looked over her shoulder and gave her brunette best friend a small smile before walking into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Brooke looked into the grocery bag Peyton had dropped on the counter and saw wine, candy, and ice-cream inside, everything for a perfect girl's night.

And her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach.

The next thing she heard was the lock of the blonde's bedroom door and the loud rumble of her music.

A few hours later when Brooke was in the shower, Peyton's music stopped and Brooke heard the bang of the front door closing.

* * *

It was 10pm when Peyton locked up her office that night.

She was hoping she could get out of Tric without seeing her best friend and any of her former friends. Her feelings were already fragile tonight, and that would make things worse.

But when she walked out into Tric, there they were, congregated at the bar, laughing and having fun.

She leaned against a door frame, watching the scene in front of her. She should be there, but they cut her out, abandoned her, because of feelings she didn't even have.

It wasn't fair.

Haley turned around and noticed Peyton, and stared until her eyes were burning through her.

So Peyton walked away, trying to keep the tears from falling for the millionth time that night.

As soon as Peyton closed the door of the Comet behind her, she collapsed into tears against the steering wheel, heaving as the tears came thick and fast.

Feeling like she was out of options, Peyton retrieved her cell phone and called the only person she felt she had left in the whole world; Alistair, her best friend from Los Angeles.

"_Hey honey, how are you?"_

"Al…I need you."

* * *

It was 2:00am when Brooke stumbled home, a little drunk, after her night at Tric with the gang.

She called out for Peyton a few times, but received no reply.

When she began to walk towards her blonde best friends bedroom, that's when she saw it, a note.

_My dearest B. Davis,_

_From the bottom of my heart I'm sorry for leaving like this, but I cannot stay here anymore.  
It's obvious that no one wants me around, so I'm doing what everyone wants, and going away.  
I'll always be grateful to you for everything you have given me; a home, my company, a best friend, thank-you for everything.  
I want you to know that I really didn't come back for Lucas, but regardless, it's clear that there's no place for me here anymore, so I won't stay and be a burden.  
Please don't try to find me; I'll contact you when I'm ready._

_I love you, B. Davis_

_Peyton xoxo._

It took Brooke a few minutes to register what was going on. Then it hit her, Peyton was gone.

And she didn't know where.

She collapsed against the kitchen counter, the sobs and tears coming thick and fast, as the reality of the situation sunk it. Peyton thought she wasn't wanted, so she left. If she had been there for her, she wouldn't have felt like that.

Brooke realised she'd been too busy with the people who hurt her best friend. What kind of best friend does that?! She even sat there while Haley and Lindsay kicked Peyton down to the ground with their spiteful words…she was too busy stabbing Peyton in the back to realise how much the blonde was hurting inside.

Her best friend was bleeding and she didn't even notice.

Brooke wasn't sure how long she sat there crying, but she could hear the birds chirping outside as the first signs of early morning daylight began to show, when she finally stood up.

But instead of venturing into her own bedroom, she pushed open Peyton's bedroom door and found the very few items Peyton had left behind laid in the middle of her bed.

The pile consisted of photos of Peyton with Haley, Lucas, and various other members of their old gang, the only copy of An Unkindness of Ravens that she owned, and the keys to her office.

But she'd left two more things that made Brooke break down again even more;

The start-up money Brooke leant her to start Red Bedroom Records; Peyton leaving this made Brooke realise that she may not hear from her best friend for a very long time.

And a drawing. The drawing showed Peyton leaning against a door frame, while all of her 'friends' were enjoying their night in front of her. The caption below read 'No place for me'. The thing that stood out to Brooke most though, was the image of Haley staring back at Peyton. As well as realising what Peyton had witnessed tonight, Brooke realised Haley had saw Peyton in Tric and hadn't bothered to tell her.

Maybe if Haley had mentioned something, Peyton would still be here.

* * *

**Well what do you think? Should I continue?**

**Review please, it keeps me really motivated.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Happy New Year, all the best for 2013 my fanfiction friends :)**

* * *

Brooke stormed into Haley's house where she found Haley and Lindsay having a coffee at the breakfast bar.

Haley stood up to greet Brooke, but she was silenced before she even had the chance to speak.

"Where's Jamie." Brooke asked simply.

"At the river court with Nathan."

"Good." And with that, Brooke threw a simple, quick, punch to Haley's jaw, knocking the smaller brunette onto the floor.

Brooke was never one to fight, but she felt so angry at Haley for Peyton's departure that she couldn't help herself.

"Brooke what the hell!" Lindsay exclaimed, running over from her seat.

"Back the fuck off Lindsay or I swear your next…your lucky I didn't punch you first already!" Brooke replied angrily.

"Brooke…?" Haley questioned, looking up at her friend who had just knocked her to the ground.

"Here." Brooke said simply, throwing Peyton's note at Haley.

Haley read the note, her face falling and contorting into a look of pure guilt.

"Peyton's gone…?" She asked, her voice carrying a hint of sadness.

"Fuck you, Haley." Brooke began to walk away.

"Where has she gone?" Haley called after Brooke.

"I don't know! Did you read the note, it doesn't say!" Brooke said in frustration, waking back over, then collapsing onto a stool at the breakfast bar.

"You know Brooke, you weren't exactly there for her either, were you..?" Lindsay started to point out.

"Don't you fucking dare! Who the fuck even are you? You're a random no one! Peyton wasn't back for Lucas, but you are so fucking pathetic and insecure that you convinced yourself and everyone else that she was, and now you've turned her friends' against her. And for what? So you wouldn't feel threatened. There was nothing to be threatened about! And now my best friend is missing, all because of you, your dick of fiancé, and that asshole over there!" Brooke said, pointing at Haley, who was now standing up and leaning against the counter. "Now I suggest you back the fuck off, and I swear if Peyton isn't okay you can start planning your funeral, cause I _will_ fucking end you, Lindsay."

Lindsay and Haley were both visibly shaken; they'd never seen Brooke like this.

"Brooke I'm so sorry…" Haley started, walking over to Brooke and taking her hands to plead her forgiveness.

"It isn't me you should be apologising to, but you can't apologise to Peyton because she isn't fucking here!"

"Brooke please, I never meant for this to happen, I didn't want her to go. I just wanted her to stop trying to get Lucas back…" Haley continued, but she was cut off by Brooke again.

"She wasn't fucking back for Lucas!"

"I know that now and I'm honestly so sorry. Please Brooke, I never meant for this to happen…"

"Look, I know you didn't think she'd leave Haley, but you should have had her back from the beginning. She always had yours, even at the very start when_ I _didn't even want to be your friend…" Brooke explained.

"I know...I wish I could change this…"

"And it took Peyton leaving to make you realise that. That's just not good enough Haley."

Haley lowered her head, ashamed of her recent actions in light of the turn of events.

"Brooke, I don't even know what to say…" Lindsay piped in.

"There's nothing you can say…"

"Maybe I should leave for a while, and come back when you find Peyton and you all clear the air." Lindsay suggested.

"What good would that do. But until I get a sincere apology and proof that you are genuinely sorry, to both myself and Peyton, I don't want you _or _your fiancé setting foot near my house or near my store. And you can consider your wedding dress order cancelled." Brooke replied, and Lindsay nodded in understanding.

"I'll do anything I can to help you find her." Lindsay said.

"I'd rather you didn't, just be ready to grovel when I get her back."

"And you…" Brooke started, turning her attention to Haley. "I need you…" Brooke conceded, her voice turning sad. Truth was, as much as Haley had done wrong, she needed her to lean on while she found Peyton.

She had shown Haley how angry she was with her when she punched her, and that was that.

"I'm still so angry Haley, and it will take me a while not to be, but I don't know what to do." Brooke said, letting the tears fall for the first time since she'd got there.

Haley sat next to Brooke at the breakfast bar and put her arm around her.

"Lindsay I think you should go. Talk to Lucas about what's happened…" Haley started.

"Yeah, and you two can start working on your fucking apology." Brooke piped in.

"We will. I'm so sorry Brooke, I really am. Please keep me updated on what's happening."

Brooke simply nodded and Lindsay left.

* * *

When Lindsay left, Brooke and Haley discussed where Peyton could be, tried her cell which they found had already been disconnected, and now Brooke was at home, ready to call the only person she could think of who Peyton could be with, or who might know where she had gone.

"Alistair, Hi. It's Brooke Davis. Look, Peyton's gone, and I don't know where she is. I'm really worried and I need to know if she's okay. Is she with you?"

"_No Brooke, I'm sorry she's not. I talked to her yesterday and she sounded sad, but no, she's not here."_

"She didn't give you any clue about where she might be? Did she say if she was planning on going anywhere?"

"_No she didn't sweetie. I'm sorry I can't be of any more help to you."_

"Thanks anyway Alistair, bye."

"_Keep me posted, Brooke_. _Bye."_

* * *

"_Thanks anyway Alistair, bye."_

"Keep me posted, Brooke. Bye".

"So that was Brooke…" Alistair said putting the phone down.

"Thank-you for not telling…" came the quiet reply from Peyton, who was sitting on the couch cuddling into Alistair's life partner, Carl, her face stained with two days' worth of tears.

"Stay here as long as you need honey, we'll contact Brooke when you're ready." Alistair said, sitting at the other side of Peyton on the couch, taking her out of Carl's arms and into his own.

But as he hugged her, he noticed scratches on both sides of her face that looked too deep to have been caused by anyone or anything other than herself.

And he swallowed a gasp and fought back the tears that formed in his eyes when her sleeve rode up and he accidently caught a glimpse of her scar covered arm.

* * *

**Sorry, I know this chapter was short, but the next chapter gets quite dark and I didn't want to cram it all into this one.**

**Reviews keep me motivated.**


	3. Chapter 3

**It's been brought to my attention by a very wise reader that I should have put a warning about self-harm at the start of this story, which I didn't do. I have put a warning in the main plot summary now, and I would like to apologise to anyone who has been in any way negatively affected by this story.**

**This chapter does contain self-harm, an eating disorder, and alcoholism. The next few chapters will as well, so I wouldn't recommend these if any of the above themes are going to affect you negatively…(more so than just crying for Peyton, of course)**

* * *

2 months later….

Haley walked into Brooke's house, and hearing the soft music emanating from the bedroom Peyton slept in, walked into the room to find Brooke curled up on the bed.

"How are you holding up, sweetie?" Haley asked, sitting down next to Brooke on the edge of the bed.

"They don't smell like her anymore; the sheets." Brooke said quietly, toying with a stray thread on the comforter.

"Well they won't anymore; you've been sleeping in here for two months." Haley said as sympathetically as she could.

Brooke shuddered and began to cry.

"Oh sweetie…" Haley said, pulling Brooke into her arms.

"Where is she, Haley? Why hasn't she called?" Brooke cried; the sobs starting as she buried her face into Haley's shoulder, her hands gripping onto Haley's sleeves.

"I don't know, Brooke. But Peyton's strong, she'll be okay." Haley soothed.

"It feels different this time…" Brooke whispered. "The pain I feel, it's as though she's _gone_…dead."

"Don't think like that, Brooke…"

* * *

Meanwhile in LA…

"That's another one" Carl said, holding up an empty bottle of vodka as he walked down the stairs.

Alistair sighed from his spot on the couch. "Where was it this time?"

"In the bathroom."

"Where is she?" Alistair said, his tone one of worry and concern.

"Still asleep." Carl smiled a sad smile.

The two men walked up the stairs and quietly pushed open the blonde's bedroom door.

"Oh god…" Alistair said, turning to walk back out of the room, the tears gathering in his eyes.

"Al, you can't keep turning a blind eye to this, she needs help…" Carl pointed out.

"I know…"

In the two months Peyton had been there she'd began to drink heavily. It started out as a few vodkas a day to take the edge off, then half a bottle, now it was the whole bottle…without a mixer. Just straight up drinking from the bottle.

Alistair and Carl had tried to stop her, but she'd resorted to buying her own and hiding it.

But that was the least of Peyton's problems…

Over the course of the two months, the scratches on her face had grown bigger, and deeper, and now covered both of her cheeks. And she was vigilant about wearing long sleeves, proving she was still actively cutting.

But Alistair and Carl didn't know when, where, or why she was doing it, having found no instruments in her bedroom that she could have possibly used to do it.

And her weight; she was getting thinner every day, and she was almost skin and bone now. And the two men had no idea how. Alistair made her three meals a day, served to her in her bedroom albeit, but when she emerged down the stairs, her plate was almost always cleared.

They were at a loss.

She didn't talk much anymore either. She sat in her bedroom all day with her music on, answering any questions with one word responses.

And it was obvious to Alistair and Carl every time they saw her, that she spent most of the day crying.

But they didn't know how to help her.

"Why is she so thin, Carl? What's happening to my friend?" Alistair cried, burying his face into his boyfriend's neck, as they stood at the entrance to Peyton's bedroom.

"I don't know…" But as Carl spoke, his eye caught sight of a plastic bag which Peyton had very obviously tried to conceal under her bed.

He grabbed the bag and grimaced as he opened it.

"What is that?" Alistair panicked.

"Yesterday's dinner…"

* * *

The two men sat on the couch in the living room, discussing what was going on, waiting for the blonde to wake from her slumber.

They both turned around when they heard her quiet footsteps walking slowly down the stairs.

"Good Morning, princess," Alistair smiled from the couch, his voice soft and warm.

She smiled a small smile at him.

"Can you come sit down for a second; we have to talk to you..."

She lingered for a while, not knowing what to do, her hands touching the scratches on her face before dropping by her side again.

"Come here, sweetie." Alistair said, holding his arm out, and she slowly walked over to him.

He wrapped his arm around her as she sat down next to him, and he swallowed a sob as he felt her bones through her vest top.

"Listen sweetie, Carl and I came into your room to check on you this morning and…" Alistair couldn't finish the sentence.

"We found this, honey…" Carl finished, holding up the bag.

Peyton, Alistair, and Carl met through the internship they'd taken at Sire Records, but Carl didn't want to say too much to Peyton, because although he loved her to death, she was Alistair's best friend, not his.

Peyton swallowed deeply and turned away.

"Hey, look at me…" Alistair said softly, turning her around to look at him again. "What's going on?"

She stayed silent.

"We think we know. You've been hiding your meals in a bag, and throwing them out the next morning so we don't know…" Alistair started, gently.

Peyton cut Alistair off from speaking. "You were snooping in my room?"

"No, not at all, we were checking on you, and I noticed the bag…" Carl began to explain.

"You were snooping in my room!" Peyton yelled. "Don't go in my fucking room!"

"Peyton, calm down…" Alistair tried to sooth her.

"No, you have no right to take anything that belongs to me!" She continued to yell.

"Sweetie, it's a bag of day old food…" Alistair said.

"So?!" Peyton questioned.

Alistair sighed; she was getting defensive because they had figured her out.

He pulled her into his arms again and kissed the side of her head.

"Why are you doing this sweetie? You don't have to do this, you're so beautiful…" Alistair started.

"Don't…!" Peyton warned sternly.

"You are; you're beautiful, and smart, and amazing…" Alistair continued.

"Stop it…" Peyton warned again.

"Why? You are a beautiful woman with so much potential in life…" Alistair tried again.

But as he said this Peyton stood up and screamed; "I said stop it!" Then she ran up the stairs and into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Alistair and Carl followed her upstairs and their hearts broke when they swung open her bedroom door.

She was sitting on her bed, rocking back and forth and crying hysterically, her fingers digging deep into her own skin making the scratches on her face even bigger.

"I told you to stop. I said stop." She rambled through her thick tears.

Alistair went to walk into the room.

"Don't..!" She warned.

But he tried again.

So she lifted the lamp from the night-stand, and screaming "Get out!", threw the lamp across the room; crying even harder as it hit the wall and shattered into a thousand pieces.

Alistair and Carl closed the door and walked down the stairs, knowing better than to go against her wishes at such a sensitive time.

"What are we going to do?" Carl sighed, slumping onto the couch with tears in his eyes.

"There's only one thing we can do…" Alistair said, picking up the telephone.

* * *

Tree Hill…

"Don't think like that, Brooke…"

Before Brooke could answer, her phone began to ring on the night-stand. The number was out of area, which gave Brooke that slight bit of hope that it could be Peyton.

"Peyton?" She answered, her voice full of hope.

"_Brooke, its Alistair Clarke…"_

"Alistair…" Brooke breathed, disappointed that it wasn't Peyton, but hopeful that he might have some information.

"_Brooke I have to tell you something…" Alistair began._

"Have you talked to Peyton? Is she okay?" Brooke asked, still hopeful.

"_She's here, Brooke…she's been here all along." _

"She there…oh Alistair, "Brooke began, her tone changing to one of happiness, as Haley exhaled with relief beside her.

But Alistair cut her off.

"_You have to come to LA…its bad Brooke, it's really bad."_

* * *

**Please review this chapter and let me know what you think.**

**There were a lot of sensitive topics in it, and I really hope I haven't hurt or offended anyone.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Warnings from the previous chapter apply…  
**

* * *

_"You have to come to LA…its bad Brooke, it's really bad."_

Brooke hung up the phone, and dropped it onto the bed, her expression completely unreadable.

"Brooke, what's going on?" Haley asked, her tone conveying the same panic Brooke was feeling inside.

Brooke stayed silent.

"Brooke?" Haley tried again.

Just then, Brooke broke down into uncontrollable tears.

"There's something wrong, Haley, she's not okay. I have to go to LA. There's something wrong…" Brooke began to ramble.

"Wow, wow, wow, slow down. What's going on?" Haley soothed, slowing Brooke's speech.

Brooke continued to cry heavily as she tried to recount her conversation with Alistair.

"There's something wrong. He told me to come to LA. He said its bad Hales, really bad."

"It's bad? What's happened to Peyton?" Haley asked, fear, and also guilt, evident in her voice.

"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me on the phone. I have to go LA, Haley."

* * *

Brooke stepped into the arrivals lounge of LAX, looking for Carl, a man she'd never met in her life.

She'd met Alistair once on one of the few occasions she'd visited Peyton in LA. But Carl, she didn't have a clue who he was, or what he even looked like.

She looked a mess.

As soon as she'd gotten Alistair's call, she had a quick shower while Haley packed her a suitcase, pulled her short hair into a small ponytail, threw on the comfiest clothes she could find, then she was out the door and on her way to the airport.

She waited all day, on standby for a flight, and she finally got one on the last flight of the night.

It was 5am when she touched down in LAX.

Looking around the arrivals lounge, Brooke saw a muscular man with sandy blonde hair holding up a sign that read 'B Davis'.

And if the situation wasn't so shitty, she would have thought that Carl was far too buff and handsome to be gay.

"You must be Carl?" Brooke smiled, approaching him.

"Brooke Davis", Carl started, pulling her into a hug, "We're so glad you're here." He finished, on behalf of himself and Alistair.

They stood in silence for a few seconds, both feeling awkward as they'd never met before.

Brooke finally broke the silence.

"What's happened to my girl?" She asked her voice sad and sombre.

"I think I should wait until we're home so Alistair can help me explain." He smiled sadly. "Come on; let's get you back to the house." He smiled again, taking Brooke's luggage from her like a gentleman.

. . .

The car ride back to Alistair and Carl's felt like it was taking forever, Brooke tried to look at the pretty beaches and gardens she passed on the way, but nothing would take her mind off of her blonde best friend.

"So, where's Alistair this morning?" Brooke asked.

"He um, he thought he should stay home with Peyton…" Carl said.

"Oh…" Brooke said, knowing that Alistair staying home with Peyton was an insight into how bad the situation must be. "Does she know I'm coming?"

Carl was silent for a second.

"No, she doesn't, we didn't think it would be a good idea to tell her." He started. "Brooke, if I were you, I'd use the rest of the car ride to relax, look at the beautiful scenery, and kick back…" Carl suggested.

"Why?" Brooke asked, already knowing the answer.

"Because when we get to the house you're not going to be able to do that."

"Carl, what's going on?!" Brooke asked in desperation.

"Please, just use this time to relax, Brooke." He smiled softly.

* * *

Alistair flinched on his spot on the couch, disturbed from his silent reverie, when he heard the front door close with a bang.

"_Welcome to Casa Del Rowan-Clarke." _He heard his boyfriend's voice in the hall.

"_So I guess your last name is Rowan, huh?" _He heard Brooke ask as they walked down the hall towards the living room.

Alistair stood as the living room door opened, ready to greet Brooke.

"Brooke Davis, radiant as ever." Alistair smiled when he saw her, despite her thrown together appearance.

"Alistair Clarke…Thank-you for taking care of my girl." Brooke said, pulling him into a hug.

"I don't know if I can accept that thank-you…" Alistair whispered, tears gathering in his eyes as he pulled away from their hug.

"Please tell me what's going on…" Brooke said, her own tears springing to her eyes.

"Brooke…Peyton's sick…" Alistair said quietly.

Carl moved them to the couch so they could talk better.

"Sick? What kind of sick? Is she okay?" Brooke panicked as they sat down.

"She's not physically sick, Brooke, she mentally sick…no, she's not okay." Alistair told her, and Brooke let out a strangled sob.

"What's happened to her, Alistair?" Brooke asked through her tears.

"She has an eating disorder. We don't know exactly when she stopped eating, all we know is that she's been hiding food in a bag to pretend she's been eating it, then throwing it away when we're not around…" Alistair started, his voice faltering as he began to cry heavily. "She's so thin Brooke, she's skeletal."

"Oh my God," Was all Brooke could choke out through her tears.

"But that's not all…" Carl said.

Brooke looked at them, the worry, the fear, the terror, etched on her face.

She nodded, willing the men to continue.

Having regained control of his crying, Alistair began to speak again.

"She's self-harming, Brooke. Badly."

"No!" Brooke gasped, finding it difficult to accept what Alistair was saying. She stood from the couch and began to pace. "No, no, no, she wouldn't, she…"

But she knew it was true.

"Brooke, please…sit down, you have to hear this." Carl pleaded.

Brooke sighed, and then took her seat on the couch again.

"The self-harm, it's been going on since before she came here…" Alistair told Brooke gently.

"I didn't even notice…I…I can't believe I didn't notice!" Brooke began to cry hysterically. "What kind of a best friend doesn't notice that?!"

"It's not as easy to identify as you would think…" Carl tried to soothe.

"I noticed it the night she came here…the few cuts on her arm and on the side of her face. But I thought she would stop because she's here, so I didn't do anything about it…" Alistair began, but like Brooke, he began to cry hysterically. "But she didn't, and now she's mutilated, Brooke!"

"Oh P Sawyer!" Brooke cried, still hysterical.

"She drink's heavily too, but in the grand scheme of things, that's the least our worries." Carl said, just so Brooke was fully informed.

"Where is she?" Brooke asked when her tears had subsided slightly.

"She's still asleep." Alistair told her, his tears having also subsided.

"I have to see her…"

* * *

Alistair opened the door to Peyton's bedroom, and he and Carl stood by the door frame as Brooke walked in.

"Peyton, No. Please God no, this can't be real." Brooke began to cry, falling to her knees as the tears overtook her, the sight of her best friend showing her the true reality of the situation.

Peyton's thin, fragile, skeletal, form lay on top of the sheets, deep in slumber, her face turned to one side allowing Brooke to see the deep scratches and scores on her cheek, her mutilated arms on display as she clutched a bottle of vodka.

After Alistair and Carl's discovery yesterday, she had dropped all pretence, and her bag full of unwanted food was lying on the floor beside her bed.

Alistair and Carl helped Brooke to her feet, both men crying now too.

"I'm so sorry…" Alistair cried, pulling Brooke into a hug. "I'm sorry I let her get to this…"

Brooke sighed, she knew none of this was his fault. She knew he would have been doing what he thought was right at the time.

"None of this is your fault, Alistair." She whispered, pulling away from the hug, her voice carrying the guilt she was feeling over Peyton's condition.

She walked over to Peyton's bed and sat beside her sleeping best friend.

She began to run her hand over Peyton's blonde hair.

"Oh Peyton, I'm so, _so_, sorry. I should have been there for you, I should have spent more time with you, and maybe things wouldn't be this way. I am _so_ sorry," She stared, continuing to cry. "I'm going to get you through this P Sawyer…_us_ through this. I promise."

Just then, Peyton stirred on the bed and opened her eyes.

"Brooke…?"

* * *

**Reviews keep me motivated...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Warnings still apply…**

_*Flashbacks in italics*_

* * *

2 weeks later…

"Come on, sweetie. Just a little bit more chicken, then you're good." Brooke smiled, pushing Peyton's plate further in front of her as they sat across from each other at the dinner table, in the kitchen.

Alistair and Carl sat at either side of the blonde.

Peyton stared at Brooke then turned away, not answering her.

Since Brooke's arrival two weeks ago, Peyton hadn't spoken more than two words to her, but not because of any ill feelings towards her, it was more so because her condition was getting worse. She had become more withdrawn from Alistair and Carl too, having also stopped talking to them. She was now communicating with them through hand gestures, or sometimes not at all.

But Brooke was going to get her through this, and she wasn't going anywhere!

"_Brooke?.."_

"_Peyton, oh my god!" Brooke said, bringing Peyton into her embrace and cradling her. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you. I'm so sorry. I'm not going to leave you this time, I promise, I'm going to get you through this, you're going to be okay." Brooke sobbed, rocking the blonde back and forth as she cradled her._

_Peyton tensed in Brooke's arms, her face emotionless._

_In any other circumstance she would have cried. Hell, she'd cried almost every day she'd been there because she just wanted her friends to want her._

_But now that Brooke was there, she was emotionless. Her walls came flying up, 100x worse than they ever had before._

"_Why did you call her?.." Peyton croaked to the men at the door._

"_Peyton…!" Brooke said, but she knew it was the blonde's current condition making her say that, it wasn't because she didn't want her there._

_She knew Peyton, and she knew that Peyton wanted her there, even if the blonde didn't know it yet herself._

"_Honey, we had to…" Alistair explained._

_Peyton moved out of Brooke's embrace, albeit very slowly._

"_Leave my room, please." Peyton said quietly._

"_P. Sawyer…." Brooke tried._

"_Leave. Me. Alone!" Peyton barked a bit more harshly._

_And Alistair knew that was a sign that they were about to set her off._

"_Brooke, come on…" Alistair said, using his eyes to communicate to Brooke that she had to leave the room._

"_Okay, I'll leave you alone for now…" Brooke said, standing up from the bed and walking to the door where Alistair and Carl were standing._

"_But I'm not going anywhere Peyton; you can try and push me away all you want, but I'm staying put, I'm not going anywhere." _

"Come on, P. Sawyer, one more tiny little bite." Brooke said, picking up Peyton's fork and handing it to her.

Since Brooke had been there, they had been forcing Peyton to eat her meals at the dinner table, but they were noticing that the blonde didn't seem to be putting any more weight on. In fact, she was getting weaker.

Peyton took the fork from Brooke's hand then ate a tiny piece of chicken, swallowing thickly and retching as it went down.

"Thank-you, Sweetie." Brooke smiled, "I think you're good for now."

Alistair and Carl both smiled at Peyton, letting her know that they were happy with how much she'd eaten.

The blonde smiled at small smile at Brooke and the guys, before getting up from her seat and going back upstairs to her bedroom.

Just as Peyton left the kitchen, the telephone rang and Carl went to answer it.

"I don't understand it!" Brooke exclaimed, "Why isn't she putting more weight on?" Brooke asked Alistair.

"I don't know, but…" Alistair started, but Carl walked back into the kitchen.

"That was my Mom; she got us appointment with her friend's daughter down at Cedars Sinai. Katie's a psychiatric consultant, she very good, knows her stuff." Carl told them.

"Oh thank-god, we need this!" Brooke said. "Thank-you, Carl."

"When is it?" Alistair asked.

"It's, um, tomorrow." Carl started.

"That's good, great actually." Alistair smiled. "Have we to bring Peyton along?"

"No, no we've not. The appointment isn't exactly official; she's kind of doing me a huge favour. She's going to give us some advice; she doesn't have to see Peyton unless she thinks its necessary." Carl explained. "She's going to meet us in the waiting room of the psych ward at 10:30."

* * *

"I hate hospitals, they creep me out!" Brooke said, as they walked along the corridors in Cedars Sinai hospital.

"Oh me too, did you ever watch that show Kingdom Hospital? Little girl ghosts and stuff, creepy!" Alistair agreed.

"Guy's focus, we're here for Peyton, remember?" Carl said. The poor guy was obviously nervous.

"Yes, we know that! Did it not occur to you that maybe we're trying to forget that we're so nervous?" Brooke said, a little pissed off at Carl's implication.

"Come on, calm down, we're all here to help our friend." Alistair said as they reached the waiting room of the psychiatric ward.

They sat down on the chairs, waiting for Katie, linking hands out of nervousness.

"Carl!" Katie said, walking around the corner, into the waiting room.

"Katie…" Carl said with relief, standing up to greet the doctor, his childhood friend.

Brooke and Alistair stood up to greet the doctor, too.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Katie Karraway." Katie introduced herself.

"Alistair Clarke."

"Brooke Davis."

"Brooke Davis? Clothes right? I love your jeans." Katie smiled, and Brooke smiled back, relieved that the doctor was breaking the tension and being friendly.

They followed Katie into her office, where she had already set up three chairs in front of her desk.

"Have a seat." She smiled, motioning to the chairs in front of the desk as she sat down on her own.

They sat down, and shifted around nervously.

"So, you have a friend who's a little unwell at the moment?" Katie asked them.

"Yeah," Brooke said, "Her name is Peyton."

"And Peyton is staying with you two?" Katie asked, motioning to Alistair and Carl.

"Yes, and Brooke flew over two weeks ago to stay with us too, to help Peyton. She's at home right now, in bed, she kind of sleeps all day." Alistair explained.

"Okay, why don't you tell me what's been going on."

They started by explaining to Katie about her cutting.

"Okay, the only thing you can do here is make sure that there is nothing in her bedroom or in the bathroom that she can use as an instrument. That means no razors, no mirrors that she can break, no scissors, nothing. And follow her whenever she goes into the kitchen." Katie began. "And as for her harming herself with her hands, unfortunately there's nothing you can do about that. Until she stops that herself, there's not a thing you can do short of tying her down...but that's just a figure of speech, don't _actually _do that."

Next they explained about her eating disorder.

"So, what you're saying is, you are making sure she eats in front of you, but she's not putting any weight on?" Katie asked, to clarify.

"Yes, and she seems to be getting weaker and weaker too." Brooke explained.

"What does she do after she eats?" Katie inquired.

"What, I, I don't understand the question?" Brooke asked.

"After she eats, does she sit for a while, does she leave the room, if she leaves, how long after finishing her food?"

Carl answered this time. "She leaves the room. As soon as she puts her fork down she's out of there."

Katie sighed and sat back on her chair, sighing, before sitting up again.

"She's not putting on any weight because she's throwing her food back up."

"What?!" Brooke exclaimed, while Alistair burst into tears.

"When she leaves the dinner table, where does she go?" Katie asked.

"She goes upstairs, back to her bedroom I'm assuming, I don't actually know." Carl explained.

"She's throwing her food back up. When she leaves the dinner table, she's going to the bathroom, and she's forcing herself to vomit." Katie told them. "I'm sorry, but she's bulimic."

"Oh God!" Alistair exclaimed, still crying, as he took Brooke's hand, who was now crying too.

Carl had to hold it together to get the most out of this appointment as possible.

"What can we do?" He asked.

"Okay, just to make sure that I'm right, when you go home this afternoon, give her lunch and then let her do what she normally does. But listen to see where she goes, and if it's the bathroom, wait until she's out and then go in. If she has indeed vomited there will be smell left behind. You'll know right away if there is, it will be unmistakeable." Katie began to explain.

Brooke, Alistair, and Carl nodded, listening to her intently.

"If she is bulimic, you have to make sure that she does not leave your slight for at least forty-five minutes after she's eaten. Preferably one hour, but forty-five minutes should be enough. You can't let her out of you sight, even if means you have to hold her down."

Lastly they told Katie about Peyton's drinking and lack of communication, but Katie told them that all they could do was search the house daily, including Peyton's bedroom, for alcohol, and to continue to communicate with Peyton as normal in the hope that she begins to communicate back with them.

"Thank-you so much, Katie. This means more than you know." Brooke said, shaking Katie's hand as they all stood from the desk.

"It's all in a day's work, Brooke." Katie smiled.

They walked towards the door, and as they were about to walk out, Katie said. "If things continue to get worse, don't hesitate to bring Peyton in. I'll be here to make sure she gets the best help available."

"Thanks Katie, I owe you big time." Carl smiled, pulling the doctor in for a hug.

* * *

It was lunch time, and Peyton had just finished her last bite of pasta, the look on her face almost painful from having ate the majority of the meal.

"You can go now." Brooke smiled, and Peyton smiled back before exiting the kitchen and walking up the stairs as fast as her weak legs could carry her.

They listened closely to see where Peyton would go, and just as Katie said she would, Peyton went into the bathroom.

"I was hoping that Katie was wrong…" Brooke sighed.

They listened until Peyton flushed the toilet and went back to her bedroom.

"Okay, who's going up? We can't all go, she'll know something's going on." Alistair said.

"That's true, let's not alarm her or we won't be able to get her to eat dinner." Brooke pointed out.

"I'll go," Carl volunteered, as he stood up and exited the kitchen.

He was back in the kitchen only a minute later.

"It's unmistakeable. She's been vomiting." Carl told them sadly.

* * *

Peyton put her fork down after her last bite of dinner, and looked at Brooke, expecting the Brunette to tell her she could go.

But the longer Brooke stayed silent, the more uncomfortable Peyton began to grow.

She turned to look at Alistair and Carl and they kept the same stoic look on their faces as Brooke had.

Giving up waiting, Peyton tried to stand up, but Alistair and Carl stopped her.

"Not today, Sweetie." Brooke said, and Peyton's face dropped in horror.

Carl stood up to stand by the kitchen door.

But that was a mistake as Peyton saw an opportunity and slid from Alistair's grasp and bolted towards the kitchen sink.

"Peyton what are you doing?! Brooke exclaimed, jumping up when Peyton leaned over the sink and began to force her own fingers down her throat.

"Peyton, no!" Brooke grabbed Peyton and turned her around, trying to pull her hand out of her mouth.

But it didn't work.

The more Brooke tried to pull her hand away, the further Peyton began to force her fingers down her throat.

Brooke broke down in tears as the blonde began to retch and choke.

"Peyton stop, please stop!" Brooke cried.

Alistair stood up and tried to help Brooke, while Carl continued to keep guard at the door.

But Alistair was too late, as Peyton vomited all over the kitchen floor.

"Oh my God!" Alistair began to cry with Brooke.

Peyton continued to throw up fast. She forced herself to vomit so much that she emptied her stomach of food, and what she ended up throwing up was a black mixture of bile, stomach acid, and blood.

She had ruptured her stomach trying to throw up nothing.

"A little help here, Carl!" Brooke exclaimed trying to control Peyton's vomiting.

But when Carl moved Peyton saw another opportunity and made a run for the kitchen door.

But due to Peyton's weak condition, and the speed at which she was trying to move, her legs couldn't take it. And as she burst through the kitchen door, her legs gave in and she collapsed under the weight of her own body.

When Brooke, Alistair, and Carl reached her, she was trying to get up.

That's when they realised she couldn't, and the blonde let out an ear piercing scream, and began to cry hysterically, all the while still vomiting slightly.

And she didn't stop.

Brooke tried to approach her, and her scream got louder.

"Get away from me!" She yelled through her scream, then she began to scratch at her face again.

"Call an ambulance!" Carl shouted to Brooke and Alistair.

The ambulance was there in minutes, and when they paramedics entered the house, what they saw broke their heart.

A young, beautiful, woman, sitting on the floor scratching away at her own face, the blood from the scratches dripping from her face, and covering her cheeks and her hands.

The young woman was screaming loudly and crying inconsolably, hitting out at her friends who were trying to help her.

However the vomiting had now stopped.

"Come away, we'll get her from here." The male paramedic told them, as the female paramedic tried to calm Brooke down, who was now as hysterical as Peyton, while Alistair filled her in on Peyton's condition.

The male paramedic went to try to talk to Peyton, but Peyton reached out and started to violently hit out at him and scratch him, obviously not wanting his help.

"Jenna, I think we need a little extra help here." He told the female paramedic.

"What does that mean? What is it?!" Brooke exclaimed, panicking.

"I sorry we have to do this, Miss Davis. We don't like to, but we need to do this to help your friend." The female paramedic explained, taking some things out of a medical bag and setting up an injection, then handing it to the male paramedic.

"Oh my god, no!" Brooke cried, realising that they were going to sedate her best friend.

The male paramedic managed to hold Peyton still long enough to give her the injection.

The sedative worked almost instantly, and Peyton fell into a silent heap against the male paramedic. They blonde was still awake, her eyes were wide open, she had simply fell into a completely sedated state.

The paramedics got Peyton onto a stretcher and strapped her up, and carried her out into the ambulance.

"Miss Davis, are you riding in the ambulance with Peyton?" Jenna, the female paramedic asked.

Brooke said yes, then climbed into the ambulance with Peyton. The door closed behind her then they were on their way to the hospital, Alistair and Carl following behind in the car.

Brooke looked at Peyton laying there lifeless on the stretcher.

The blonde's eyes were wide open and she was staring directly at Brooke.

Brooke smiled at her and took her hand. "I'm here P. Sawyer, and I'm not going anywhere."

Brooke wasn't sure if Peyton even knew she was there.

But Brooke realised that Peyton was aware of her presence when the sedated Blonde whispered a soft, barely audible, almost incomprehensible, "I'm….sorry…."

* * *

**Review's keep me motivated…**


	6. Chapter 6

It was 7am, and Brooke sat by Peyton's bedside, still wide awake from the night before. The last she'd saw them, Alistair and Carl had fallen asleep on the chairs in the waiting room.

Peyton had been put into a medically induced coma in order for the doctors to tube feed her and get her strength back up. Brooke and they guys were told she could be in it for up to a week. But except from that, they knew nothing, and they probably wouldn't until Dr Katie started her shift, the night doctor wouldn't tell me them anything.

"Good Morning, Miss Brooke, we brought you some coffee." Alistair smiled, as he and Carl walked into the room. "It's that awful instant stuff, but we thought you'd need it."

Brooke took the cup from him, with a small smile.

"So did you sleep at all last night?" Alistair asked, as he and Carl took a seat on the chairs at the other side of Peyton's bed.

Brooke simply shook her head no.

"Sweetie, you have to sleep, your eyes are all red." Carl said, his voice carrying a worried tone.

"My eyes are red from tears, Carl. But nonetheless, I'm not sleeping until I talk to a doctor." Brooke said.

The two men sighed.

"So, how is she doing this morning?" Alistair asked, placing his hand over Peyton's, careful not to knock the I.V in her hand, as the blonde lay unconscious on the bed.

"I don't know, the doctors won't tell me anything…" Brooke said sadly.

But before Alistair or Carl could reply, the door opened quietly, and Katie walked in.

"I didn't realise things were so bad or I would have told you to bring her in straight away yesterday morning." Katie said apologetically, as she walked over to Peyton's bed.

"It's hard to judge the severity of a situation when you're only hearing about it." Carl replied.

"Dr MacCaskil briefed me further on Peyton's condition, I told him about our meeting yesterday, so he kept a close eye on Peyton through the night…" Katie started.

"I know, he was in and out of here last night, poking and prodding, but he wouldn't tell me a damn thing!" Brooke said, pissed off at the doctor who was working through the night.

"There was nothing he could tell you until this morning; he had to monitor Peyton through the night. But because I was coming in this morning, and I'm a friendly face so to speak, he thought it was best for me to talk to you." Katie smiled. "If you three would like to step outside with me, I'll fill you in on what's going on."

"Outside? But…" Brooke said, motioning towards Peyton, but Katie knew she was going to point out that Peyton was in a coma.

"It's just hospital procedure." Katie smiled.

They stepped outside and Katie began to fill them in on the situation.

"As Dr MacCaskil told you last night, Peyton is in a medically induced coma at the moment, and is being fed a high fat, high protein, food solution through a tube to get her strength up before we give her any medication. But we have prescribed her medication, and developed a recovery plan for her." Katie started.

Brooke and the guys listened intently.

"Peyton is suffering from an atypical form of manic depression. What that is basically, is the depressive state of bi-polar, but with no periods of extreme elation like a typical bi-polar sufferer would experience. What Peyton is experiencing is the extreme clinical depression side of bi-polar only, and with this, a mild form of psychosis." Katie continued.

She waited to see if Brooke or the guys wanted to ask any questions, but when they stayed silent she continued to speak.

"But, the psychosis is only a side effect of her depression, and will dissipate when she begins treatment. When she starts her medication though, make sure she takes it, because if this is left untreated any longer it will develop into a more serious psychological disorder. " Katie warned seriously.

"What…what does the psychosis do to her?" Brooke enquired.

"Her screaming and hitting out at you guys and the paramedics last night, that's the psychosis." Katie explained.

"So the self-harming is not from that?" Brooke asked to clarify.

"No, no its not. I don't know why she scratches her face, that's something she'll go into with a clinical psychologist, but what I do know is that self-inflicted injuries like that are usually the result of the sufferer wanting to change something about themselves that's out with their control, in the cases I've seen before that's been the case anyway, and there's usually a trigger for it too, something they see or hear, so look out for it, it may help in her recovery. The cutting though, that's pretty standard in people with depression, it's simply a way to numb the mental pain by masking it with physical pain." Katie further explained.

Brooke and he guys simply nodded, trying to think of things that may have triggered Peyton, but nothing was springing to mind.

"So, what treatment do you have in mind…?" Carl asked tentatively.

"We have prescribed a strong anti-depressant. It's very good, and will stop her feeling as low as she does now. Unfortunately though, it's not a magic pill so I can't guarantee it will make her eat again or stop self-harming, I can only guarantee it will stop the extreme depression and psychosis, which, at the moment, is our main priority because we cannot allow it to get any worse. What we hope though is that as her mood improves, the self-harming will stop, and she'll get her appetite back. Often when one thing gets better, the rest falls into place. But we'll keep an eye on it anyway."

"Well that's good, I mean if we keep an eye on things it should get better." Brooke smiled, optimistic. "But, I have to ask, her scratches and cuts, will they scar?"

"On her arms, yes they will. The skin on the wrists is thin, and contains less elastin than other areas of the body. And, Peyton cut very deep, so much so that a tiny bit more could have resulted in fatal blood loss, so yes, her arms will be permanently scarred. But, providing she doesn't scratch any deeper, the scars on her face will fade with time. The skin on the cheeks is rich in elastin, and has a good rate of regeneration, so the scars will heal in around six months."

"And her legs, can she walk?" Brooke asked, worried, as Peyton could not get back up when she fell the night before.

"Yes, she hasn't lost the use of her legs, she's just very weak, which means she will probably need some slight physiotherapy when she comes out of her coma, and she will definitely need the use of a walking aid for a few months during her recovery. We will provide her with walking sticks, and they can be customised so Peyton can have a design that she likes." Katie smiled.

"Well that's good, every little helps right." Carl smiled.

"Okay, further treatment. We will refer Peyton to a clinical psychologist, we just need to know if Peyton would prefer to come here, or if she would like us to refer her to a medical centre closer to where you guys live."

"Refer her to Tree Hill Memorial Hospital." Brooke said quickly.

"What?!" Alistair exclaimed, turning around to stare Brooke in the face.

"She's coming back home to Tree Hill to recover at home with me and her family, where she belongs." Brooke said adamantly.

"Oh, with those people who are the reason she's in here in the first place!" Alistair scathed, enraged that Brooke wanted to take her back to Tree Hill.

"Don't argue you with me Alistair!" Brooke warned, then turned to Katie and said, "Refer her to Tree Hill Memorial Hospital in North Carolina."

And with that, Brooke turned on her heel and walked back into Peyton's hospital room.

"To be honest with you guys, it's actually best for Peyton to go home to North Carolina with Brooke to recover, it's proven that people make the quickest recoveries when they're around family, in the place they grew up. And when I looked at Peyton's file this morning, I noticed she received bereavement counselling in Tree Hill when she was a child, so it may be in her best interests to receive therapy in a place that she knows…." Katie began.

"It was only last night she collapsed under the weight of her own body, she's not fit enough to be travelling across the country!" Alistair exclaimed.

"We will ensure she has adequate support when travelling, and we will not discharge her from here until we are sure she is fit enough. So you don't have to worry about that, just trust myself and Brooke that going home to North Carolina is in Peyton's best interests." Katie started. "Please tell Brooke that I will send Peyton's referral onto Tree Hill Memorial Hospital and that we will notify them when Peyton is discharged from here, so they can arrange a date for her first therapy session. She'll be notified by letter."

Katie said her goodbyes and left the guys standing in the corridor.

Alistair sighed, realising that Katie was right. Going home to Tree Hill was in Peyton's best interests.

* * *

Alistair and Carl stood in the corridor looking through the small window into Peyton's room.

Brooke was sitting by Peyton's bed, tears in her eyes, as she held Peyton's hand.

"They're in love." Alistair said quietly.

"What?" Carl asked, confused.

"They're in love. They may not realise it yet, but they are." Alistair said.

"You're going to have to elaborate." Carl laughed.

"Peyton's here because she felt like Brooke left her behind. If they were just best friends, yes she would have been hurt, but she would have been more angry and resentful than sad, and she certainly wouldn't be like this. She's like this because Brooke leaving her behind made her feel worthless, and why did it make her feel that way? Because she loves her." Alistair started, and Carl looked at him, intrigued.

"And Brooke, when we called her she was here at the drop of a hat. She dropped everything to be by Peyton's side and she hasn't moved since. If they were just best friends, she would have taken her own life and her own priorities into consideration, but she dropped it all for Peyton. And her reaction to all of this, she's a mess Carl, she can barely function properly, and I know the only person who would ever make me react like that is you because I'm in love with you, so what does that say about Brooke? She's in love with Peyton. They're in love Carl, I know it." Alistair said with conviction.

Carl stared through the window, and began to see what Alistair was saying.

Everything Alistair said was true, and he was right, it did point to love. He just wasn't sure if Brooke and Peyton were aware of it yet, themselves…

* * *

**I'm so excited about writing this story, and it's coming up to the parts that I'm really excited to write…the good parts so to speak :)**

**The more reviews I get, the quicker I'll update, just sayin…**


	7. Chapter 7

2 weeks later…

"All set, honey?" Brooke asked, rubbing Peyton's shoulder as the blonde sat on her bed in Alistair and Carl's house.

Peyton had been discharged from hospital 3 days earlier after her strength was up and she'd eaten independently. She'd received two sessions of physiotherapy for her legs, and she'd been taught how to properly use sticks to support her walking. Due to the condition she had gotten her muscles into, the physiotherapist estimated that she'd need her sticks for up to three months, but she'd feel her legs strengthening and know herself when she was ready to walk without support.

Peyton chose black sticks with red handles…of course she had to get some red in there somewhere.

Peyton nodded her head, and Brooke leaned down and hooked an arm around Peyton's waist, while Peyton put an arm around Brooke's neck, allowing the Brunette to help her up from the bed.

Brooke handed Peyton her sticks, and the blonde steadied herself, while Brooke lifted Peyton's suitcase and carry on.

Today was the day they were going home to Tree Hill.

"Have you remembered to pack your meds?" Brooke asked, opening Peyton's carry on to see if she had packed them, before Peyton even had the chance to answer.

The blonde nodded her head yes anyway.

Peyton had started taking her medication 6 days earlier, and Brooke noticed that it had both good and bad effects. Peyton wasn't having any symptoms of psychosis anymore, and she was eating without throwing up, albeit only minuscule amounts of food. But a little is better than nothing, right?

The bad side was that it made Peyton like what could only be described as a zombie. She wasn't crying all the time anymore, but she wasn't happy either…she was just, nothing. And it hadn't stopped her from self-harming either. Brooke still noticed small trickles of blood on the blondes face, but she did note that there were no fresh cuts on her arm…but she had a feeling that was the result of Peyton having no instruments for cutting at her disposal, not because she didn't want to do it.

But Katie said that the zombie like state was completely normal and should get gradually better when Peyton started her therapy. She said the same about her continuing self-harm. As Peyton started to talk things through, her condition would improve ten-fold.

Brooke was also told to encourage Peyton to open up to her, because every time that the blonde opened up was a step in the right direction for her recovery.

"Come on, time to go, sweetie." Brooke smiled to Peyton, then she walked out of the room into the hall.

Peyton took a final look around the room, and ran a hand over one of her mutilated arms, thinking about the past 3 months she'd spent there, before she slowly walked out of the room, using her sticks for support.

Brooke left their luggage at the top of the stairs, and kept an arm around Peyton's waist to keep her steady as they walked down the stairs to where Alistair and Carl were waiting for them.

"Your cab's waiting outside." Carl smiled, running upstairs to retrieve their luggage.

"Thank-you so much, for everything. If it wasn't for you two, well, I don't even want to think about what would have happened." Brooke said to Alistair and Carl when Carl came back downstairs, her voice portraying the appreciation she felt for the men in front of her.

"We did what we had to do." Carl smiled, as he and Alistair pulled Brooke into a three person hug.

As they hugged, Alistair whispered to Brooke. "Take care of my girl."

Brooke nodded her head as they pulled away.

Alistair then wrapped Peyton up in a hug, careful not to hurt her still very small frame.

"Keep yourself healthy, and come back and see me when you're better. You know this is your home too and you're welcome here any time. I love you to death, angel." He whispered as he hugged her.

Peyton smiled a small smile, which Alistair knew was a big thing for her as of late. She whispered back a simple "I love you, too."

Carl then hugged Peyton, and told her he loved her and that she had to get better soon.

"I'll call you every day to let you know how she's doing." Brooke promised them.

Then Brooke and Peyton were heading out to the taxi to go to the airport.

And Alistair cried as the taxi drove away.

* * *

The airplane was flying at 33,000ft, en route to North Carolina. They were half way through their journey, and Brooke had booked them onto first class to make sure Peyton had a comfortable seat, extra leg room and a reclining seat so she could rest her legs, and food that was at least edible.

The cabin crew were brilliant, catering to any needs Peyton, and also Brooke, had, seating them in a good location where Peyton was only a short walk to the bathroom and not too close to other passengers.

Brooke wanted the journey to be as pleasant for Peyton as possible.

"It's time for you meds, sweetie." Brooke said, standing up to retrieve Peyton's carry on from the over-head compartment.

She had a bottle of water ready for Peyton to take her meds with.

Brooke sat down and retrieved a little blue pill, and a slightly bigger white one.

She handed Peyton the bottle of water and put the pills on the little fold down table in front of the blonde.

Peyton took the pills one by one, gagging as they went down.

Brooke grimaced, knowing that taking meds twice a day, every day, would be very unpleasant for her best friend.

Brooke kept an eye on Peyton, making sure she swallowed the pills.

But she knew she did when she noticed the slight sedative effect of the pills begin to come over the blonde.

Peyton lay back against her seat, and stretched her legs out in front of her, as she became drowsy.

Brooke ran a hand through her best friend's hair. "Sleep, sweetie. And when you wake up, we'll be home."

They were on a night flight, so when they got to North Carolina it would be the early hours of the morning.

Peyton shifted slightly and rested her head on Brooke's shoulder. Which, given Peyton's recent state, was a good thing for her, and Brooke smiled.

"I'm gonna be okay, right?" Brooke heard Peyton whisper quietly.

Brooke looked down to see Peyton drifting off to sleep.

"Yes sweetie, you're going to be just fine, I promise. I'll take of you." Brooke whispered, just as Peyton fell asleep against her shoulder.

Brooke ran her hand through Peyton's blonde hair again, and leaned down to place a gentle kiss to her temple.

"I love you, P. Sawyer."

* * *

Peyton fell asleep again as they drove back to their house in Tree Hill.

Brooke had left her SUV in airport storage when she went to LA.

When they reached the house, Brooke took their luggage inside, and made sure there was nothing in Peyton's bedroom that she could use to cut herself, before heading back out to the car to wake the blonde up.

"Wake up P Sawyer, we're home." Brooke said softly, lightly shaking Peyton to wake her up.

Peyton stirred and opened her eyes to see Brooke standing outside holding her sticks, the car door opened, ready for her to climb out.

Brooke held her hand out for Peyton to take, and the blonde gathered up her energy and climbed out of the car, taking Brooke's hand for support.

Brooke handed the sticks to her, then locked the car, before helping Peyton into the house.

As soon as they were inside, Peyton stopped in her tracks and began to look around.

Here they were, back in Tree Hill, back where it all started.

And then her vision clouded over and she began to shake.

Brooke noticed, and ran to Peyton's side, just as the blonde began to gasp for breath.

She began to shake even more, becoming more despondent, until her sticks fell and she lost her balance.

But Brooke was there to break her fall.

Brooke wasn't worried though, she'd read up on this stuff online. Katie had briefly mentioned it, but Brooke had learned through her own research that panic attacks were very common in people with Peyton's condition. And some could be so bad that they looked like epileptic seizures.

Peyton was having one of those bad ones now.

But through her research, Brooke had learned how to deal with it.

Brooke sat on down the floor, and laid Peyton on her lap, holding the blonde close to her as she came out of her attack.

Gradually, Peyton's stopped shaking, and she came out of the panic attack looking confused and tired.

"You're okay, sweetie, you had a panic attack, but you're okay." Brooke soothed, pulling Peyton further into her.

Brooke knew that a bad panic attack completely drained the sufferer of energy, and Peyton had very little to begin with, so Brooke wasn't surprised when she looked down and saw Peyton's eyes close as she fell asleep again.

Brooke stood up, and carried Peyton into her bedroom with ease, and laid her down her bed.

The blonde was in a deep slumber, and didn't even stir as Brooke changed her out of her clothes and into a pair of pyjamas that she'd left behind when she went to LA.

Peyton was skinny before she left, but Brooke noticed that those skinny girl pyjamas could fit around Peyton's tiny frame twice now.

After changing into a pair of pyjamas of her own, Brooke slid into bed beside her best friend, pulling her into her arms, wanting to wrap her up and never let her go again.

Although it was almost 4am, Brooke retrieved her phone, which she'd placed on the night-stand, and typed out a group text to all of their friends.

'_Meet me at Naley's (or your place if you are Naley), tonight, at 6pm. It's important!'_

* * *

**Next chapter will be longer...I promise :)**

**Reviews keep me motivated...**


	8. Chapter 8

**To JustLikeBrookeDavis: I know what you mean about therapy not always stopping things, that's why I put in the story that Peyton is still scratching herself. But with the way I want this story to go, I want the therapy and Peyton's recovery to tie in together, and I want to phase out the cutting and concentrate more on the scratching, the reason for the scratching fits in more with the story line. I probably should have written that more clearly. I hope that I'm still writing this story sensitively, your reviews mean a lot :)**

* * *

It was 10am, and despite having not gotten to sleep until 5:00am that morning, Brooke had been awake since 8:00am.

When she got up, she unpacked her suitcase, then unpacked Peyton's, then she threw together a quick breakfast for Peyton to eat with her medication.

She had also received replies from all her friends, saying they would meet her at Naley's that night.

She was now sitting on Peyton's bed, gently shaking the blonde awake.

"Come on, P Sawyer, you got to take your meds."

Peyton stirred on the bed, and turned to face Brooke.

She looked so tired, and drained, and sick.

Brooke retrieved the small sandwich and Peyton's meds from the nightstand, while Peyton very slowly sat up in bed.

"Eat up, Sweetie. You can't take your meds on an empty stomach." Brooke said, handing the sandwich to Peyton, and she began to eat it, taking tiny little bites at a time.

It looked almost painful for Peyton to swallow, and Brooke felt so sorry for her best friend. But she needed to eat, and that was the bottom line.

When Peyton had finished most of the sandwich, she looked at Brooke, letting her know she couldn't eat anymore.

Brooke smiled; she'd eaten quite a lot of it actually, which was good.

Brooke then handed Peyton her meds and a glass of water, and the blonde swallowed them down, retching as she did.

Brooke pulled her into her arms, and kissed her temple.

She just wanted her best friend to get better.

This wasn't what she saw for them.

But she knew that no matter what life threw at them, she would protect Peyton fiercely. She wasn't making that same mistake twice.

She'd stand by her side forever.

Because there was one thing Brooke had started to realise over the past few months.

She needed Peyton in her life more than she needed anyone else, more than Haley, more than Lucas, and more than any guy that will ever come into her life.

If Peyton's illness had taught her anything, it was that she'd be quite content with her life if she spent it in her little house in Tree Hill, with her best friend in the whole wide world.

And Brooke wasn't stupid; she knew that was more than what other best friends would want out of their lives.

But she wasn't quite smart enough to realise what it actually meant…yet.

Brooke held Peyton in her arms for a little while longer, simply listening to her breathing, thankful that they were here together, and that Peyton was at least a tiny bit on the road to recovery.

"Sweetie, I have to go over to Nathan and Haley's later, is that okay?" Brooke asked sensitively.

She felt Peyton stiffen in her arms.

"I won't be gone for long, I promise…" Brooke said, but she felt Peyton begin to sob.

"Peyton, what's wrong?" Brooke asked, worried.

But Peyton just continued to sob.

She clung onto Brooke so hard, that the brunette could barely move.

"Do you not want me to go?" Brooke asked softly.

Peyton shook her head no.

"Oh honey, I'll only be gone an hour at the most…" Brooke tried to reason with her.

But Peyton continued to cry and shake her head.

"Talk to me, P Sawyer…" Brooke said, willing Peyton to tell her why she wanted her to stay.

But she was actually surprised when Peyton began to speak.

Her voice was hoarse, and hard to make out through her tears.

But Brooke heard her loud and clear, literally and figuratively.

"Don't leave me again to go to them." Peyton sobbed.

It was like the wind had been knocked out of her, her role in Peyton's illness becoming very clear for the first time.

She had always felt guilty for not being there for Peyton before and spending too much time with Haley and Lindsay, but she never realised the full extent of her role in Peyton's downward spiral until now.

Peyton was the way she was because she felt like Brooke had abandoned her for Haley and Lindsay.

Haley and Lindsay weren't solely to blame. It was her.

And it was in that moment that Brooke made a vow to herself:

She would stay by Peyton Sawyer's side for the rest of their lives.

She held Peyton at arm's length so she could stare directly into her emerald green eyes.

"Listen to me right now, Peyton Sawyer. I am never, ever, going to leave you. Ever. And if have to go away to Haley's or to Lucas' house for an hour or two, I will always, always, come straight back here to be with you. I will not make that same mistake twice. You do not have to worry about me leaving you anymore, because I will never leave you, I promise." Brooke said with determination and sincerity, tears falling by the end of her speech, while Peyton continued to sob in front of her.

She pulled Peyton into her arms again and kissed her cheek multiple times. "I love you, Peyton Sawyer."

She didn't know why that last little phrase caused her heart to beat fast, or why her stomach felt like someone was forcing some sort of pressure onto it.

Strange.

* * *

It was 5:45pm and Brooke walked into Peyton's bedroom where the blonde was in bed, listening to music, half asleep.

She sat down on Peyton's bed, and took her hand into her own.

"I'm going to go to Nathan and Haley's now, but I'll be back around 7 okay. Don't worry, remember what we talked about. I'll be back, I'll always be back." Brooke said, rubbing circles into Peyton's wrist.

Peyton nodded as her face screwed up, obviously trying to hold in tears.

Brooke sighed, not wanting to leave her, but knowing she had to. Peyton had to learn to cope or she would never recover.

Brooke stood up and walked towards the door, but just as she was about to walk out of the bedroom, Peyton's quiet voice stopped her.

"Brooke, don't let them come here…not yet."

Brooke nodded and smiled softly. That was twice today that Peyton had sort of opened up to her, and that was a good thing.

* * *

Brooke walked into Nathan and Haley's house, and found all of her friends gathered in the living room waiting for her.

"Hi…" She said, breaking the silence, as her friends stared at her with concern, anxious to hear any news about Peyton. "Where's Jamie?" She asked, not wanting to say anything in front of him.

"He's gone out with Deb." Haley started, walking over and pulling Brooke into a hug. "How are things?" Haley asked sadly, and Brooke knew exactly what she was talking about.

Brooke pulled away from their hug.

"Why don't you all sit down, guys. I have to tell you something, and it's bad...really bad." Brooke said sadly, moving to stand in front of her friends who were all seated on the couches.

"What's going on, Brooke?!" Nathan asked, panicking.

They had all heard from Haley about what happened the morning Brooke went to LA, and they had all been worried sick.

But Nathan had been particularly worried, as he and Peyton always had such a strong friendship.

A friendship he wished he'd tried harder with recently given his friends disappearance.

"Okay…" Brooke started. "Peyton's back in Tree Hill, with me."

"Well that's good!" Lindsay said enthusiastically, relieved that the blonde was home safely. Lindsay had some making up to do, and she was glad she could now.

"Yeah, start working on your fucking apology, Lindsay" Brooke started, but she could feel the tears rise as she began to speak again. "But she's sick, really _really_ sick." Brooke said, crying by the time she'd finished speaking.

"Sick?" Haley asked, worry washing over her.

Brooke could only nod her head as she cried, trying to contemplate what to say next.

"What's wrong, Brooke, what's happened to her?" Lucas asked this time, concern and guilt evident in his voice.

"She, she has something called Atypical Manic Depression…" Brooke started through her tears, which was met by a serious of gasps and oh my gods from her friends.

"It's like the depressive state of bi-polar, but she doesn't get the happy periods like bi-polar sufferers get. She's just sad all the time…" Brooke told them.

Haley and Lindsay had tears in their eyes, feeling so guilty it was unimaginable.

Little did they know, they were about to feel even worse.

"Well we'll be there for her, and try to make her happy again." Nathan said, which was met by a chorus of agreement from everyone else.

Brooke sat down on the floor, not being able to stand anymore because she knew things were about to get heavy, and her tears would fall even harder.

"It's not that simple, Nathan…"

"What's going on, Brooke!" Haley said, sensing that something was very very wrong.

"She has an eating disorder, a bad one, she's so thin…" Brooke started, managing to hold it together, but when she said the next part, she completely lost it and broke down. "She's been self-harming guys, he arms and her face. She's basically mutilated herself."

That done it for Haley and Lindsay and they both broke down with Brooke.

"Oh poor Peyton. I can't believe it, this is all our fault!" Haley cried to no one in particular, as she walked over to Brooke and cuddled into her, and Lindsay did the same.

They hugged and cried for a while, until Brooke calmed down enough to be able to explain the rest of Peyton's condition.

By the time she'd finished, there wasn't a dry eye in the room.

"I want her to know how sorry I am, I want to be able to make it up to her." Lucas cried, utterly ashamed of himself.

Brooke shook her head no, while saying, "She doesn't want anybody around, not yet anyway, and I agree."

They all just nodded their heads in agreement. They could see why that was.

Peyton needed to recover in her own time, and she didn't need them making her worse, and from what Brooke said, seeing them right now wouldn't be good for her.

They asked some more questions, and got a full understanding of the situation, and when Brooke checked her watch, she noticed it was 7:30pm.

She told Peyton she'd be home at 7:00pm.

"Shit, guys, I have to go!..."

Without even saying individual goodbyes, she ran out to her car and rushed home.

She told Peyton 7:00pm, and it was 7:30pm. She just hoped Peyton was okay at home, and didn't notice she was half an hour late.

She'd told Peyton she was going to be there for her, and she didn't want to let her down at the first hurdle.

* * *

It was 7:40pm when she rushed through the front door of their house, and the first thing she noticed was the cutlery drawer open fully in the kitchen, and Peyton's music up full.

"Fuck!"

Brooke had been spending that much time helping Peyton do things that she'd forgotten that Peyton needed her sticks to _support_ her walking, not because she couldn't walk at all.

She was more than capable of retrieving the things she wanted, including sharp objects, and Brooke was kicking herself that she didn't lock up the kitchen drawers.

She rushed into Peyton's room, only to find the blonde asleep.

There was a small but sharp knife on the night stand, but much to Brooke's surprise it was clean.

She scratched her head in confusion.

Maybe Peyton had really _heard _her when she said she wasn't ever going to leave her.

They say that people cut to numb emotional pain. Perhaps Peyton was feeling in pain, then she thought about Brooke's words and realised things were going to be okay.

Brooke didn't know, all she knew was that the clean knife was a good thing… a very very good thing.

* * *

**Reviews keep me motivated…**


	9. Chapter 9

**I would have updated sooner but…I sorta hit a brick wall with this. You know, when you know exactly where you want to be, and you've done all the prep, but you just don't know what goes in between?**

**A time jump seemed most appropriate.**

* * *

One month later…

"So, how have you been this week?" Dr Buckner, Peyton's therapist, asked, getting the formalities out of the way at the beginning of Peyton's third session with him.

Peyton stared at him, saying nothing, like she had for their past two sessions.

"I talked with your friend Brooke outside; she said you've been eating well this week, and that you've been taking some small steps without your sticks…that's good." He continued.

Peyton simply nodded.

"You know Peyton, you have to start talking soon or I won't be able to help you. I can only help those who want to be helped…"

Dr David Buckner was the best therapist that money could buy…Brooke wanted only the best help for Peyton. But he was an advocate of tough love and he knew Peyton needed it to get better, especially since she wouldn't talk.

She stared at him again.

"So, I noticed Brooke brings you here every week, are you two close?" He tried; maybe she would talk about that.

She sighed, and gave in.

"Yes…" She whispered.

"How long have you known her?"

"Since we were eight. She's my best friend" she answered.

Dr Buckner had noticed that Brooke was very protective of Peyton; she would be in the therapy room with her if she could. He was intrigued by their closeness and was eager to find out more about it.

Maybe Brooke was the key to getting Peyton to talk.

"Do you talk to her about how you're feeling?" The doctor asked.

Peyton shook her head no, and her face fell.

"Maybe you should. Sometimes all we need is a friendly shoulder to lean on." He suggested.

"I can't…"

And Dr Buckner knew he was onto something.

"Let's start from the beginning Peyton…"

They began to talk about how Peyton's illness had come to be, and she opened up slightly, but Dr Buckner noticed that Peyton continually talked about Brooke, and about how she definitely didn't come home for some boy named Lucas. She mentioned other names in passing, but it was obvious from her facial expressions that Brooke hurt her more than the rest of them ever could.

And it made him wonder if Peyton's connection to Brooke ran deeper than friendship.

In his years of being a therapist, he'd learned to notice the signs of someone having feelings they weren't even aware of. And in many cases, these feelings were the cause of the person's illness on a subconscious level… and it was part of his job to coax these feelings out.

He was so good at his job that he could quickly suss people out, and in Peyton's case, he was sure that he knew exactly what was going on.

He knew that Peyton was aware that it was Brooke who had hurt her, but he also knew she didn't fully understand why.

So why did Brooke's behaviour affect her so badly?

Because there was more to her feelings for Brooke than just friendship…she just didn't know it yet.

When their session ended, he'd only broke ground with her, and he was going to continue focusing on Brooke in the next session…and many more afterwards.

* * *

When Peyton was in her two hour therapy session, Brooke went to Tree Hill High School to visit Haley, as the teacher had a free Period.

"So, how's Peyton doing?" Haley asked with concern in her voice.

"She's getting there. She eating well, still only little bits, but she's eating more every day. And she's starting to walk without her sticks. Only a few steps at a time, but it's something. She hasn't cut herself in a few weeks either, which is good. She still needs some help getting in and out of the shower, and I've been checking her arms when I've been helping her, and there have been no fresh or reopened wounds..." Brooke started.

"Well that's good." Haley said, enthusiastically.

"Yeah, but she's still scratching her face, a lot. Dr Buckner, her therapist, told me that there will be a trigger that makes her do it, but I can't seem to find one. I constantly reassure her that she is beautiful, and loved, and cared for, but she still does it, and I don't know what to do… I just wish she'd talk to me." Brooke finished, sadly.

"I know you do, Brooke. I wish I could see her." Haley said, her tone just as sad as Brooke's.

"Not yet, Hales." Brooke replied, smiling sadly. "Maybe in a few weeks when her walking is stronger and I've figured out this whole scratching thing."

"Whenever she's ready to see me, I'll be there." Haley smiled.

* * *

"How did it go today?" Brooke asked when she picked Peyton up from therapy.

They were in Brooke's car, heading back to the house for a quiet evening.

"Good." Peyton said quietly, looking out of the window.

"Good? So you talked today?" Brooke asked, trying to sound neutral when really she was pleased as punch.

She didn't want to scare Peyton into silence.

"Yeah," Peyton answered flatly.

To be honest, talking about it in therapy had made her remember everything, and she was quite pissed off.

But she also noticed that she was more pissed off than she was sad, and that made her happy… in a roundabout way.

"What did you talk about?" Brooke asked, hoping that maybe Peyton would open up to her. But she realised that was a long shot when Peyton turned to her, stared right through her, then turned back to the window.

* * *

It was eight in the evening, and Brooke was sitting alone watching television in the living room.

Peyton had gone to her room after arriving home from therapy, and the last Brooke had checked, she was asleep.

Brooke sat in the living room, which was now dull from the twilight outside, thinking about Peyton.

She just wanted her best friend to get better, so they could be _them_ again.

But as that thought left her mind, a new thought entered. She wanted them to be like they used to be, but in a new kind of way.

As crazy as she knew it was, she'd grown accustom to looking after Peyton, and she knew she'd miss it when the blonde got better.

She loved cuddling into Peyton's skinny body at night, and the way Peyton clung to her as she slept. But she knew that once Peyton was better, she'd still let her sleep in her bed, but she wouldn't cling to her anymore, and she'd roll over to her own side of the bed when spooning became annoying…just like she used to do. And Brooke knew she'd miss her warmth.

And the last thing that scared Brooke was _Peyton_ leaving _her._ She knew that when Peyton beat this, she'd come back stronger than ever, and that she'd eventually meet someone and move on with her life. And that thought scared Brooke shitless. She didn't want Peyton to meet someone and move out of their house, Peyton's illness had taught her that she wanted it to be just the two of them, living together, forever. Hell, she'd realised that the minute Peyton left town, and was sure that the blonde was her soul mate.

No one ever actually specified that your soul mate had to be a romantic partner.

Since Peyton's illness, Brooke had begun to feel like their relationship dynamic had changed.

How she felt about Peyton now was so much more than what it was back in high school.

Yes, in high school she would have protected Peyton with everything she had. But she could let her go without it ruining her life…see Lucas incidents one and two. Yes, she still cared for Peyton more than anyone in those times, but not having her in her life wasn't the be all and end all, there were other things in her life to focus on.

But now, the thought of not having Peyton in her life was the scariest, most horrific, thing she could think of. She couldn't even comprehend it. Those two months when she didn't know where she was were horrible, and finally seeing her but finding her terribly ill, was the most horrendous thing she'd ever experienced. She was still fiercely protective of Peyton, but it was so much more than that now…she'd die for her if she had to.

Not having Peyton in her life would be the end of it.

But what did all of this mean?

To be honest, she didn't quite know yet.

She was broken from her thoughts by the ringing of her cell phone.

"_Her Brooke, its Haley, your ATM card and a $50 bill fell out of your pocket in my class today, just in case you think you lost it."_

"Oh my god! I went to pay for groceries today and got totally embarrassed when I tried to pay for $30 worth of food with a $20 dollar bill!" Brooke started, laughing. "Little late, Hales...but I do need my ATM card."

"_Ha-ha, it's not my fault that you keep important stuff in the back pocket of your jeans. Anyway, I'm just driving home from Luke's; I can swing by and drop them off if it wouldn't upset Peyton."_

Brooke mulled it over for a second.

"Peyton's asleep in her room; you can come by, but be quick." She agreed.

Haley was there within five minutes, and before she let her in, Brooke made sure that Peyton was still asleep.

Brooke let Haley in, and made them both a coffee as she didn't want to be rude and just send Haley away after she'd went out of her way to bring her ATM card over.

"How did Peyton's therapy go?" Haley asked.

"Good, she talked today, which is good progress. But she's been in her room since we got home, and she hasn't spoken to me, not even to say she's hungry or anything, nothing." Brooke explained.

"If she talked at therapy today, it will have taken a lot out of her. Don't worry about it too much." Haley smiled.

They talked for a little while longer, and Haley was about to leave, when they heard Peyton's bedroom door click and open slightly.

Haley turned around to see her friend standing in her bedroom, looking out through the slightly ajar door.

It was the first time that Haley had saw her in over four months, and the slight of her broke her heart.

She was thin, and pale, and Haley could see the walking sticks she was holding. She could also see the scratches and scores on her cheeks, underneath her big green eyes that looked as though they were bulging because her face was so thin.

Tears sprung to Haley's eyes, and she had to swallow the lump in her throat so it wouldn't be evident in her voice.

"Peyton…"She smiled, trying not to show her blonde friend how sad she felt.

Peyton shut the door again, subsequently cutting off what Haley was going to say.

Haley turned around to look at Brooke, tearful and speechless.

The severity of Peyton's condition hadn't truly hit home until that moment.

And it was by far the most heart breaking thing she'd ever experienced.

"I think you should maybe go now…" Brooke said, looking towards Peyton's bedroom door.

Haley nodded in understanding. It was unclear how Peyton would react to seeing her, and Brooke had to make sure she was okay.

When Haley left, Brooke gently knocked on Peyton's bedroom door, and quietly pushed it open, to find the blonde sobbing on her bed.

"Sweetie, it's okay, don't cry…" Brooke soothed, sitting down on Peyton's bed and pulling her into her embrace. "Haley was just dropping off some things for me."

"I didn't want to see her yet." Peyton croaked through her tears.

"I know honey, but it was my ATM card, and I needed it…" Brooke tried to explain, but what she didn't understand was Peyton's immense fear of losing her, and how she needed to be reassured or she wouldn't be able to comprehend Haley's role in her life.

She need reassurance from Brooke that she wasn't going to go anywhere or she would continue to see Haley as a threat.

Peyton continued to cry.

"Peyton Sawyer, listen to me right now. I am not going anywhere! I've told you before, and I'll tell you again, you are the most important person in my life, and that will never change!" Brooke said in a firm but caring tone.

"You are the most important, most special, most beautiful, girl, I have _ever_ met…!" Brooke began, but she stopped when Peyton's hands flew to her face and began to scratch.

"Hey, no…!" Brooke started, grabbing Peyton's hands and pinning them by her side.

She held them there until the blonde stopped trying to fight her hands free.

That's when Brooke thought she'd found a trigger: When the subject of her not going anywhere came up.

To test this, Brooke spoke again to see if Peyton tried to fight her hands free.

"I'm staying right here with you, I'm not going anywhere…"

But Peyton stayed still.

Brooke furrowed her brows in confusion…

She tried again.

"I'll always be right here with you, cause you're my beautiful P Sawyer."

Peyton tried to free her hands again.

Brooke realised then, that the two times she'd said beautiful had caused Peyton to do something.

Was the trigger something to do with that?

"My amazing, pretty, beautiful, P Sawyer."

But Brooke regretted saying that, when Peyton gathered all the strength she had and tore her hands away from Brooke and attached them to her face again, and began to cry heavily.

"Please don't say that Brooke, stop it, please…"

Yes, Brooke had finally found the trigger.

Brooke grabbed her hands again, and hugged her tightly, as she shook from her tears, her hands fighting a hard battle to escape from Brooke's grasp.

"Don't say those things, Brooke!" Peyton cried.

Brooke began to cry quietly.

"Why P Sawyer, why not?

Peyton pulled away from Brooke's embrace, but Brooke managed to keep a hold of her hands.

"Because I'm not! I'm not good enough; I'm not beautiful or amazing, I'm just nothing, and you left me! " Peyton sobbed heavily.

Brooke accidently let go of Peyton's hands in an absent minded moment as she took in what Peyton was saying, her heart smashing to pieces as she realised how much she'd actually damaged her best friend.

The blonde began to scratch her face _again._

"I don't want look like this anymore, I want to be beautiful, and I'm not! You left me because I wasn't good enough, people who are good enough are beautiful, like Haley, and Lindsay. And I'm not, because you left me Brooke, you left me!" Peyton continued to sob, scratching at her face.

Brooke began to sob too.

She knew that people with Peyton's condition thought about things in the worst possible way, and that their ideas about things were sometimes a little bit delusional.

But delusional or not, it was how Peyton genuinely felt, and knowing this broke Brooke's heart more than she even knew was possible.

How could she feel like she wasn't beautiful or good enough?

To Brooke, she the most beautiful, and good enough, person that she'd ever known.

And Brooke hated herself for being the reason that Peyton felt like that.

So as well as her promise to herself to never leave the blondes side, she promised herself that she'd make her feel beautiful, and loved, and good enough again, too.

Because she was.

Moving Peyton's hands from her face again, Brooke lay down on the bed and grabbed her into her embrace again, pinning her hands by her side.

"You're so beautiful P Sawyer, the most beautiful girl in the world." Brooke whispered, pressing a kiss into Peyton's hair as she cried into her shoulder.

Trigger or not, Brooke vowed that she would tell Peyton how beautiful she was whenever she could, even if she had to pin her hands down every single time, until the blonde began to believe it again.

* * *

**I know, the Peyton from the show doesn't seem like the type who would be insecure about her looks. ****But, it's something that I think even the strongest of people get upset or insecure about, even if they don't admit it, and I thought it worked for this story.**

**Plus, the 'beautiful' thing ties in with the storyline.**


	10. Chapter 10

_*Flashbacks in italics*_

* * *

One month later…

"So, we've made fantastic progress in the past few weeks Peyton, I think opening up to Brooke has helped you a lot." Dr Buckner smiled, happy with how far Peyton had come in a month.

And it was all thanks to a certain Brunette.

"Yeah, well…" Peyton smiled, blushing slightly and dipping her head.

"She cares about you a lot more than I think you realise." Dr Buckner commented, which caused Peyton to think about the past month with her best friend.

"_Come on, P Sawyer, you're doing great…" Brooke said, holding onto Peyton's hips to steady her, as the blonde tried to walk across the living room without the use of her sticks._

_She was still unsteady, and she still needed them outside, and would for a while, but she was making progress indoors._

"_Brooke it hurts a little." _

"_Sweetie, you have to do it or you won't make any progress."_

"_I know, but I don't feel steady, I'm losing my balance." Peyton said, slightly panicking, then she lost her balance and fell backwards into Brooke, who fell backwards from the shock, and the two women landed on top of each other on the floor._

"_Oh my god, that couldn't have happened if we tried!" Brooke laughed hysterically, grabbing Peyton around the waist, as the blonde rested on top of her._

_Peyton was very light as she was still only eating a small amount of food._

_Peyton broke down laughing with her._

"_Just as well I'm small or you'd be pretty much squished to death by now." Peyton laughed._

"_Well beautiful girl, I'd rather I was squished to death by you than anyone else." Brooke winked, but with a serious tone._

_Upon hearing Brooke say beautiful, Peyton went to move her hands up to her face, but Brooke stopped her._

"_No! No you don't! You were laughing and doing well, don't do that now!" Brooke said sternly._

_Brooke had been finding it difficult to get Peyton to stop scratching. It was proving to be a challenge, but she was getting there, Peyton had at least stopped fighting her on it._

_The wounds on her cheeks were still prominent as she still opened them up occasionally, but they were gradually starting to get smaller, and Dr Buckner had reassured her that all going well, they would disappear in time._

_Peyton looked into Brooke eyes sadly, and Brooke lifted her hand to stroke Peyton's cheek._

"_Stop it, please. You're beautiful Peyton, more beautiful than anyone I have ever known. Don't you know how much I love you?" _

_Peyton looked into Brooke's eyes, and lowered her head so their foreheads were touching._

"_You're beautiful Peyton, okay." Brooke whispered._

_It was in that moment that Brooke realised just how beautiful Peyton was. She was more beautiful than she'd ever realised before, and her beauty was making her feel things for the blonde that she'd never felt before._

_Things that made her heart race like the beat of a drum._

_They were broken from their moment by Peyton announcing; "I really have to pee and I can't up."_

_This caused the two women to laugh hysterically again._

"Yeah, she really does." Peyton smiled, her eyes telling Dr Buckner exactly how much she cared for her brunette best friend too.

"But how do you feel about Brooke, Peyton?" Dr Buckner felt that Peyton had made enough progress to be ready to engage with her innermost feelings.

"Well, she's my best friend, I obviously love her to death." Peyton said, like it was totally obvious.

"Is she though, is she just your best friend?" Dr Buckner asked tentatively.

Peyton looked at him, knowing exactly what he meant.

She began to think about the past month again.

"_Good morning, sleepy." Brooke smiled, as Peyton walked out of her bedroom, using her sticks to support her, her hair dishevelled with sleep._

_Brooke was sitting at the dining table eating waffles, but she'd made far too much to eat on her own._

_Peyton slowly walked over to stand by the table, next to Brooke._

"_You hungry, skinny?" Brooke asked, smiling up at Peyton._

"_Just a little." Peyton smiled, then Brooke pulled her down to sit on her lap, and Peyton set her sticks against the table so she could reach them when she needed them._

"_Here, I made too much for just me." Brooke said, putting a piece of waffle on her fork and holding it up to Peyton's mouth so the blonde could eat it._

"_Yummy." Peyton smiled, once she'd eaten the small bite._

_And Brooke smiled up at her, saying, "yummy indeed." _

"_You could say that, beautiful Davis." Peyton winked, causing Brooke to furrow her brows, before brushing the comment off._

_Peyton wasn't sure what she meant by that, herself._

_Brooke went to feed Peyton another piece of waffle, but she pulled it away just as Peyton went to eat it, causing Peyton to glare at her._

_She continued to do it until Peyton was pissed off._

"_Seriously Brooke! Knock it off!" Peyton said loudly and seriously, and Brooke smiled big._

_It was the first time since Peyton's illness that she'd seen fire in the blonde's eyes, and it was a glimpse of the old Peyton, the Peyton she wanted back._

_She hugged her arms tightly around Peyton, and Peyton glared down at her._

"_There's my girl."_

"I, I don't know." Peyton answered honestly.

"Explain it to me, Peyton." Dr Buckner said.

"Lately, when I've been around her, or when she calls me…when she calls me…beautiful, it makes my heart race in a way that it never has, with anyone, and I don't know what it means. Every time she says it my urge to scratch gets less and less, it's like she's fixing me, and I just don't know what it all means."

"Maybe she is fixing you." Dr Buckner suggested.

"But how? I don't get it…" Peyton said.

"Peyton, have you ever considered that you have feelings for Brooke, and the reason you ended up so sick is because subconsciously you thought that she didn't feel the same about you?" Dr Buckner asked her.

"I, I never thought about it."

"Do you have feelings for her?"

Taking into consideration the things Brooke had done for her since she'd been sick, and how she'd been feeling about the brunette lately, Peyton knew Dr Buckner was right.

Yes, she probably did have feelings for Brooke.

But if Brooke's unreciprocated feelings had made her sick, why was Brooke the cure?

"I guess I do, but if Brooke was the cause, then I don't get how she's the cure when she still doesn't have any feelings for me." Peyton said, confused.

"Doesn't she?"

* * *

As Brooke always did when Peyton was at therapy, she was at Nathan and Haley's having a catch up with them.

It was the first week of summer vacation now, and Jamie's birthday was coming up.

"So, how's Peyton?" Haley asked, hoping for some good news.

"She's good," Brooke started happily, and Haley smiled big. "She's making great progress with her walking, and the other morning we were eating breakfast and I was pissing her off, and she yelled at me. I know it's crazy that I was happy that she yelled at me, but it was the first time that I saw a glimpse of the old Peyton, she had this fire in her eyes, you know. I really think that she's on her way back." Brooke finished.

"That's so awesome, Brooke." Haley started. "Actually, that's good timing because, well, its Jamie's birthday next week and we want to have a dinner party with everyone next Friday, and we were wondering if Peyton would be up for it." Haley asked.

"Well, I'd have to ask her, and she still doesn't eat a lot. But I think that'd be okay." Brooke smiled, she really did feel like Peyton was ready. "It's just Lindsay and Lucas I'm worried about."

"They are so sorry though Brooke, and they've been asking me when they can tell her themselves, but I've been waiting for you." Haley said. "They want to make it up to her, Brooke, they really do."

"Mama, did you tell Aunt Brooke about my birthday dinner?" Jamie asked, walking into the kitchen.

"She did little man, and I will be there." Brooke smiled.

"Will Aunt Peyton be there too? She hasn't been around for a while." The little boy asked, his tone slightly sad by the end of his question.

"Aunt Peyton?" Brooke asked Haley, arching an eyebrow at Haley in condescension.

"Yeah, it's just, when she left, I realised that she was Jamie's aunt just as much as you are, and I hadn't really told him that, so I explained that she was aunt too…" Haley began to explain.

"Out of a guilty conscience, by any chance?" Brooke asked snarkily, then she backed off when she saw the sad look on Haley's face. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, you're right. I realised that I want Peyton to be as big a part of Jamie's life as you are." Haley said, and Brooke simply nodded.

"Will Aunt Peyton be at my party?" Jamie asked again.

"Come here, little man," Brooke started, lifting Jamie onto her lap. "She'll be here, since it's for you. But I have to tell you something, so you won't be afraid when you see her."

"Why would I be afraid of Aunt Peyton?" The little boy asked, confused.

"Jamie, Aunt Peyton has been very sick, and she's very skinny now, and she has trouble walking, she needs special sticks to help her. But she also has very big scratches on her face, and I don't want you to be afraid when you see her." Brooke explained.

She had to be honest, she knew it could be quite distressing for the little boy to see Peyton's face, it was very daunting for an adult, never mind a child.

Jamie thought it over for a few seconds.

"Aunt Brooke, I would never be afraid of Aunt Peyton, it's not her fault she got sick…" Jamie said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

He was a very smart little boy.

"But sweetie…" Brooke started, but Jamie cut her off.

"It's okay if her face has lots of scratches, I had a scratch on my nose when I fell off of my bike. Maybe she needs someone to kiss her scratches better, like Mama did with mine…" Jamie said, and Brooke nodded, thinking about kissing Peyton.

"Maybe she does…"

"I want to give Aunt Peyton a hug, I miss her." Jamie said.

"Well you can at your Party next Friday, little man."

* * *

It was 10 in the evening, and Brooke and Peyton were on the couch, Brooke sitting down, and Peyton lying on the couch with her head on Brooke's lap.

They were listening to Brooke's iPod, which was plugged into speakers, just sitting in silence enjoying the music.

Brooke was running her hands through Peyton's blonde hair.

"You're doing great with your walking now." Brooke commented quietly.

Peyton had walked around the house without her sticks a few times today, and Brooke was very proud of her.

"I'm getting there." Peyton whispered.

"I'm very proud of you," Brooke started. "Hey, Haley is having a dinner party for Jamie's birthday next Friday, and they want you to be there. Do you think you might be up for it?"

"Um, I dunno…" Peyton started.

"You know everyone regrets what they did. Especially Lucas and Lindsay…"

"I know they do, and I just want to let go of the past and forget everything. Start again with everyone, you know?"

"Then come to the dinner party next week." Brooke suggested.

"Okay, I will."

Just then, the first beats of Eric Clapton's Wonderful Tonight began to play, and Brooke took Peyton's hand.

"Dance with me…"

Peyton looked up at her.

"Let's test the strength of those legs."

Peyton reluctantly stood up, and Brooke stood after her, and led her into the middle of the room, as Eric Clapton began to sing.

Brooke wrapped her arms around Peyton's waist, and Peyton wrapped her arms around Brooke's neck.

Brooke automatically rested her forehead against Peyton's without even thinking about it, and began to sing along with music, singing to Peyton.

'_It's late in the evening; she's wondering what clothes to wear.__  
__She'll put on her make-up and brushes her long blonde hair.__  
__And then she asks me, "Do I look all right?"__  
__And I say, "Yes, you look wonderful tonight."'_

They swayed along to the music, both feeling completely at home in the other's arms.

'_We go to a party and everyone turns to see  
this beautiful lady that's walking around with me.  
And then she asks me, "Do you feel all right?"  
And I say, "Yes, I feel wonderful tonight."'_

Brooke pulled Peyton even closer into her, and looked deep into her eyes as she continued to sing to her.

'_I feel wonderful because I see  
the love light in your eyes.  
And the wonder of it all  
is that you just don't realize how much I love you.'_

And in that moment, everything else in the world disappeared. It was Brooke and Peyton and the feelings between them.

And as if a magnet was pulling them together, they both leaned forward until their lips were touching in the gentlest of kisses.

The song continued to play as they softly kissed, both relaxing into the other.

Their lips massaged the others, and it felt more right than anything they had ever done in their whole life.

The song ended and they pulled away, but suddenly they became very aware of what had just happened, and everything became weirdly awkward.

"I, I'm really tired…" Peyton mumbled, then she grabbed her sticks and walked into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

"Yeah…" Brooke replied quietly, even though Peyton was already in her bedroom.

What the hell had just happened?

* * *

**Reviews keep me motivated…**


	11. Chapter 11

Peyton sat on the counter in the kitchen, watching Brooke as she rushed around the kitchen making chocolate chip cookies for Jamie's birthday dinner, which was the following evening.

Brooke was wearing sweats and a tank top, her short hair was tied in a small ponytail, and she was covered in flour.

Peyton thought she looked adorable.

"So, are you looking forward to the party tomorrow?" Brooke asked, taking one batch of cookies out of the oven, and putting another batch it

"I guess…" Peyton said, and Brooke could sense the worry in her voice.

"It'll be okay, Peyton. In fact, it will be great." Brooke started, walking over to where Peyton sat on the counter and standing between her legs. "And Dr Buckner said that you're more than ready to see everyone, you must be if you only have to see him once a month now."

"I know, and I know I'm ready…it's just gonna be weird, you know." Peyton said, and Brooke nodded.

"We'll get through it together. But, in the meantime…" Brooke said, running one hand up over Peyton's thigh while she reached over and grabbed a freshly baked cookie from the baking tray. "Taste this."

Peyton took a bite of the cookie that Brooke was holding up to her mouth. "Mmm, delicious, Brooke Davis."

"Indeed." Brooke winked.

In the week since they'd kissed, they'd been flirting like crazy, almost acting like a couple; Making dinner together, cuddling on the couch watching TV, spooning in bed, teasing each other.

But, the one thing they hadn't done was actually discuss the kiss.

Nor had they kissed again, or even acknowledged it.

Things weren't awkward though, and they carried on as normal; they just hadn't mentioned it.

Although the flirting had increased tenfold since it, and they both knew it.

Not only had the flirting increased, but so had Peyton's rate of recovery.

The scratches on her face had become visibly smaller, not because Brooke had stopped calling her beautiful, because she said it every day, but because Peyton had started to accept it.

She was eating regular meals again, and cooking herself, showing that she wanted to eat and wasn't only eating out of necessity. Her portion sizes were still very small, but Brooke thought that was more to do with the fact that the blonde's stomach had probably shrunk and needed time to adjust to proper sized meals again.

And she was now moving around the house without the use of her sticks.

She opened up fully to Dr Buckner too, and she felt like a weight had finally been lifted. He said that she was passed the hardest part of her recovery, and that she was going to come out of it just fine. Then he said that he only had to see her once a month now.

"How many batches are you making?" Peyton asked, jumping down from the counter when Brooke moved away from her.

"Just three." Brooke smiled, picking up a mixing bowl and beginning to mix up more cookie dough.

Peyton took the bowl from her and began to mix it herself.

"Dude, you know what this reminds me of?" Peyton said, turning around to face the counter, her back to Brooke.

"What?" Brooke asked absent mindedly, subconsciously staring at the blonde's sweat pant covered ass, which had started to fill out again from her increased food intake.

"Um remember second grade when you found out how much money Martha Stewart made and you started your own cookie business?" Peyton told her, and Brooke laughed and walked over to her, wrapping her arms around her waist.

"Oh my God, Brookies…" Brooke said, resting her head on Peyton's shoulder.

"Brookies!" Peyton laughed, leaning her own head back to lean against Brooke. "The only thing worse than its name was the actual cookie."

Brooke pulled away and smacked Peyton's ass with an oven mit. "They were not that bad!" she exclaimed, laughing herself.

"They were terrible!" Peyton continued to laugh as she put the mixing bowl down and turned around to face Brooke. "And, you almost burned my house down!"

"No, no I didn't!" Brooke exclaimed, pulling Peyton into her, while Peyton cut her off.

"Yes you did!"

"I did not; I set off one smoke alarm…" Brooke protested, wrapping her arms around Peyton's waist again. "And your dad _acted_ like I almost burned the house down."

Peyton laughed, wrapping her arms around Brooke's neck. "He was just worried about us."

Their eyes locked. Brooke had a strong urge to kiss Peyton again, but they hadn't yet talked about the first time, and she didn't want to cross any boundaries, especially when Peyton was on the cusp of a full recovery.

"Yeah…" Brooke breathed.

Peyton could feel the atmosphere around them grow thick with want, and she wanted so desperately to kiss the brunette in front of her, but she didn't because she wasn't sure how Brooke felt about the first time.

So she pulled away, and leaned down to place a small, gentle, kiss to the side of Brooke's mouth, running her hand along Brooke's torso as she walked out of the kitchen, into the living room.

. . .

A few hours later, Peyton was in her bedroom having her afternoon nap, while Brooke was on the phone to Haley.

"So, what's the dress code for tomorrow? I know it's a dinner party, but dressing too formal or smart might overwhelm Peyton…"

"_Yeah, I thought it might. So, I was thinking just casual, you know. And I'm not making anything too fancy to eat anyway; I mean Jamie's only five, so I was thinking like Spaghetti and Garlic Bread, and Chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert. Something…casual." Haley said._

"Yeah, that sounds great, Hales." Brooke smiled, but then she began to think. Peyton had no casual clothes she could wear to Nathan and Haley's, all of her clothes were still slightly too big for her, and she'd spent the last few months dressed in Hollister sweats and hoodies, because they were the only thing that Brooke could find that would fit her. She was sure the blonde now owned the same sweats in every colour that the store had.

Then she had an idea. "Hales, I gotta go, I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

She hung up the phone, then she went into Peyton's bedroom and shook her awake.

"P Sawyer, I gotta go to the store, okay?" She whispered, and Peyton nodded her head. "Okay, I'll see you later, Sweetie."

Brooke went to the mall and picked up a few things, then she went to her store and slaved over a sewing machine for hours, and it was late before she got home.

She walked into Peyton's bedroom where the blonde was fast asleep.

She stripped off her jeans and climbed in beside Peyton, dressed in her panties and her t-shirt. She slid her body up against the blondes and wrapped her arms around her.

Peyton snuggled into her embrace, and placed her hand on Brooke's arm.

"Good night, Baby." Brooke whispered, thinking Peyton was fast sleep.

But she wasn't, she heard Brooke loud and clear…and she liked what she heard.

. . .

Brooke walked out into the kitchen after getting dressed for the day, where she found Peyton standing at the kitchen counter taking her morning meds.

"You're up early this morning." Brooke smiled, giving Peyton's hip a little squeeze as she walked past.

"Yeah, well I had a great sleep last night." Peyton smiled at Brooke, and Brooke winked at her.

"I'm glad."

Brooke poured herself a coffee as she watched Peyton take her meds.

"After you take those, I have a little surprise for you." She told her, and Peyton took the last of her meds and washed them down with a glass of water.

"Oh really? Well I do love surprises, Brooke Davis." Peyton winked at her.

"Oh I know you do, Peyton Sawyer." Brooke said, walking over to Peyton and grabbing her hand. "Come with me."

They walked into Brooke's bedroom where there was two boxes sitting on the bed, one big, one a little bit smaller.

"They're for you." Brooke told her, and Peyton smiled before walking over to the bed and picking up the smaller box first.

She opened it and inside was a new pair of white converse lite. "I got you the ones with the thin sole, I thought they'd be easier for you to walk in because they're lighter."

"Thank-you, Brooke." Peyton smiled.

"Open the other one." Brooke said excitedly.

Peyton opened the big box, and inside was a clothes over bros black leather jacket, in a small size that would fit Peyton, a black and red long length tank top, and a pair of one of a kind, Clothes over Bro's, skinny jeans.

Brooke had made the tank-top and the jeans from scratch at her store the day before, and the jeans had an adjustable waist so Peyton could still wear them when she put more weight on.

She'd slaved away at her sewing machine for hours and hours, but it was worth it from the look on Peyton's face.

"I was thinking you could wear those to Nathan and Haley's tonight…" Brooke said happily. "I don't imagine you want to go in your sweats."

"But my sweats are comfy." Peyton joked, walking over to pull Brooke into a hug. "Thank-you so much Brooke, I love them."

"Good, because I know you're going to look beautiful in them."

* * *

**This was a short filler chapter to build up to the next chapter.**

**Next Chapter: Dinner party at Naley's.**

**Reviews keep me motivated.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Apologies for the lack of updates, working life is killing me yet again.**

**Anyway, I thought I should punch out some updates before I head off on Holiday tomorrow :) **

* * *

Brooke walked around the living room putting various things in her purse, ready to go to Nathan and Haley's.

She was waiting on Peyton, who was still in her dressing gown the last time Brooke had checked.

Peyton appeared at her bedroom door, still wearing her dressing gown, not anywhere near being ready to go.

Brooke looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"When are you ever not running late?" The brunette said sarcastically, but her face turned into a sad smile when Peyton looked down and began to touch the scars on her face.

"Brooke, will you, um...will you do my make-up?" She asked softly, and Brooke smiled.

"Of course sweetie, come on." Brooke said cheerfully, walking into Peyton's room, closing the door behind them.

Peyton sat down on her bed and Brooke sat next to her, picking up Peyton's make up bag in the process.

As Brooke began to put the blondes make-up on for her, she brushed her fingers over Peyton's scarred face.

"They're starting to heal quite nicely." She commented and Peyton smiled a small smile.

"I know, but they're still so visible..." She began, tears gathering in her eyes. "Why did I do this to myself Brooke, why did I scar myself like this?"

"Hey, hey, it's okay. You were sick sweetie, don't beat yourself up about it." Brooke began, but Peyton cut her off.

"I'm still sick, Brooke!"

"No, no you are not. You are doing great Peyton, you are on your way back to being the girl I love, and you are so beautiful, okay, scars or no scars." Brooke said with conviction, making Peyton laugh through her tears. "Now dry those eyes, because you are ruining your damn make-up."

The girls sat in silence until Brooke had finished Peyton's make-up. It didn't hide her scars, but she looked beautiful all the same, she always did in Brooke's opinion.

"All done, blondie." Brooke smiled, and Peyton spun herself around to look in the mirror.

She smiled at her reflection.

For the first time in a long time she felt like she looked nice, and that felt really good.

"Thank-you, Brooke." She said with appreciation. "I couldn't have made it through this without you, you know that right?"

"You're strong, Peyton, and you have Alistair and Carl too." Brooke said, not wanting to take all of the praise.

"I know, Al and Carl were great, but I couldn't have gotten through this if you weren't there. I need you, Brooke, and I would have drowned without you. You're my rock, Brooke Davis, and I really, really, love you." Peyton said, her voice laced with sincerity.

Because she did love Brooke. More than anyone else in the world.

She just wondered if Brooke knew what that love declaration really meant.

Brooke turned Peyton around to face her again.

"I'll always be here Peyton, you are my world, and I need you as much as you need me. I love you, too, you're my P Sawyer." Brooke said, the cheerfulness in her voice making Peyton smile.

But in her mind, Peyton couldn't help but think that Brooke only loved her as P Sawyer, her best friend only.

If only she knew the truth.

They stared at each other, the want, and love, evident in the air, until Brooke broke the silence.

"Why don't I do your hair for you, too?"

"Yeah, sure." Peyton smiled.

And as Brooke stood up to retrieve Peyton's flat iron and curlers, she bent down and placed a soft kiss to the side of Peyton's mouth.

"You look, beautiful."

* * *

Are you ready for this?" Brooke asked, as she stood at the passenger side of the car, Peyton's sticks in her hand.

Peyton was staring directly in front of her, the reality of the situation setting in as she looked at all of her friends cars, who were already in Nathan and Haley's house.

"Yeah..." She said, but Brooke wasn't convinced.

"Hey, listen to me. You will be okay, because I will be by your side, okay. You are going to kick ass in there, I know it." Brooke said, making Peyton smile.

"I do miss Jamie." Peyton said.

As they talked, Haley had walked out onto the drive to meet them.

"Let's do this, P Sawyer." Brooke said, then she helped Peyton out of the car, then handed her her sticks to help her walk into the house.

As they approached Haley, the smaller brunette ran to them and grabbed Peyton, pulling her into a hug and burying her head in her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Peyton, I'm so sorry. I never meant any of it, and I hate what I did to you. I'm sorry, please forgive me." Haley said, tears spilling from her eyes.

Peyton began to shake her head, and Brooke could tell she didn't know what to do, so she intervened.

"Hales, Hales, come on, give her some space."

Haley stood back, and wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I just, I'm so sorry Peyton, and I had to tell you." Haley explained.

Peyton took a deep breath, and what she did next made Brooke so proud of her.

"It's okay, Haley. I want to move on from that part of my life. I want to forgive and I want to forget, so I forgive you."

Brooke knew then how far her best friend had actually come.

"I'm going to make it up to you, and so is everyone else, I promise." Haley said, placing her hand over Peyton's, which was clutching her stick. "Come on, everyone's inside and dying to see you."

Haley walked into the living room first, and everyone stood up, knowing Brooke and Peyton were behind her.

Brooke walked through the door after Haley, then lastly Peyton, who was walking slowly due to her sticks.

She looked around at all of her friends, and she could see the sadness, remorse, and also pity on their faces.

But all she wanted was for them to treat her like nothing had ever happened.

Their stares were making her feel self conscious.

But the thick atmosphere was broken when everyone started rushing to her and apologising, much the same as Haley had.

"Peyton, I'm sorry, I really am. I guess I was just intimidated by you, and I know now that I shouldn't have been, but I was, and I just, I'm so sorry. Lucas is too." Lindsay said with sincerity, and Lucas agreed with her.

Peyton put her head down, and Brooke decided to cut in.

"Okay, listen to me, guys." Brooke said loudly, getting everyone's attention. "I would like to say on behalf of Peyton, that she just wants to forget the past, and move on from what happened. Clean slate, right P Sawyer?"

Peyton nodded.

"So all apologies are accepted. But behave in a way that hurts my best friend again, and I will hurt every single one of you." Brooke said, her voice sickeningly sweet at the end, in true Brooke style.

"Brooke..." Peyton muttered in warning, feeling embarrassed by Brooke's threat to their friends.

* * *

Peyton found that she'd managed to integrate herself quite easily, and things weren't as awkward as she thought they were going to be.

Especially with Lucas and Lindsay. In fact, the married couple had been bending over backwards to make sure she was okay, and it was actually starting to get quite annoying.

Peyton was now in the kitchen with Haley, Lindsay, and Brooke, helping with dinner.

Deb had taken Jamie out to let Haley cook dinner in peace.

"So, have you thought about going back to work?" Haley asked Peyton as Peyton made the salad.

"Not yet no, I mean, I will soon I think, I just have to get the walking thing 100% down." Peyton smiled.

"You've been doing great walking around without your sticks today." Lindsay piped in, smiling.

"She gets tired really easily though, so we want to wait until the sticks are gone completely." Brooke said, and Peyton turned to her with her arms folded.

"You do realise that's like the 100th time you've answered for me today, right?"

"I can't help it, it's a habit now from talking to doctors and stuff." Brooke protested.

"Well stop it, it's annoying!" Peyton exclaimed, but the smile on her face let Brooke know that she was only joking.

"Oh I'm annoying, huh?" Brooke said, pulling Peyton over to her by the hand.

"The most annoying in the whole world." Peyton joked, wrapping her arms around Brooke's neck.

"Mhmm, I'll remember that the next time you want me to make you cookies." Brooke laughed, wrapping her arms around Peyton's waist, and moving her head so their noses were touching. "Now don't you have a salad to make?"

Peyton turned around to face the counter, and continued to make the salad, and Brooke stood behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist again, resting her head on her shoulder.

"Red pepper?" Peyton said, holding some freshly chopped red pepper up to Brooke's mouth, and the brunette took a bite.

"Delicious."

"Mhmm."

Haley and Lindsay watched the whole scene unfold in front of them, and as if by clock work, they both turned to each other at the same time, confusion etched on their faces.

They were both thinking the same thing.

What the fuck just happened?

Had their friends just acted like a couple?

Well yes, yes they had.

"Mama?" They heard a little voice yell from the front door, then they heard little footsteps run into the kitchen.

Brooke had turned away from Peyton now.

"Mama is dinner re... Aunt Peyton you came!" Jamie said with happiness.

"I did, I missed you, dude." Peyton smiled, bending down to Jamie's level. Brooke stayed by her side, knowing that she might need help getting back up.

"I hope you feel better, Aunt Brooke said you were sick. Mama gives me medicine when I'm sick."

"I'm all better buddy, Aunt Brooke makes sure I take my medicine."

Jamie looked at her for a few seconds, and she could tell that he was looking at her scars, she wasn't sure if Brooke had explained them to him.

The little boy reach out and touched her face.

"You look very pretty Aunt Peyton. I told Aunt Brooke to kiss your scars all better. Did she?" Jamie enquired innocently, causing Peyton to think about the kiss they'd shared the previous week.

"Kinda..."

"Jamie, dinners almost ready, go say hi to everyone in the living room then go wash up." Haley told him, then he hugged Peyton and ran out of the room.

* * *

Dinner was served, and everyone was sitting around the dining table chatting and laughing.

Jamie had demanded that Peyton sat next to him, so the little blonde boy was sandwiched between Brooke and Peyton as Brooke wanted to be seated near Peyton... Just in case.

"How come you haven't eaten a lot of food?" Jamie asked, looking at Peyton's plate, which still had a lot on it. Everyone else was almost done. "Don't you like spaghetti?"

Haley had given Peyton the same sized portion as everyone else, as to not alienate her.

"I love spaghetti, Jamie." Peyton laughed.

"Then why aren't you eating. I'm only five and I've ate more than you." Jamie said innocently.

Brooke could see Peyton inwardly panic.

"Jamie, Peyton is silly and ate lots of candy before we came over and now she's spoiled her dinner, that's why you shouldn't eat candy before a meal." Brooke came to Peyton's rescue again.

"Did you really, Aunt Peyton?" Jamie asked, raising his eyebrows, causing the blonde to laugh.

"Yes, I did."

"Well that's silly, you don't eat before a dinner party, duh." The little boy commented and Peyton laughed with relief.

She mouthed a thank-you to Brooke, and Brooke reached over to hold her hand, which didn't go unnoticed by Haley and Lindsay.

"Aunt Peyton, what happened to your arm?" Jamie asked, and Peyton noticed that the sleeve of her leather jacket had ridden up.

"Jamie..." Haley began, but Peyton stopped her.

"I, I...My arm was really itchy when I was sick, and I scratched it too hard, and that's what happened."

Jamie reached over and began to run his finger over the scars.

"It kinda looks like train tracks."

Peyton smiled, the little boy was smart and he could see past appearances, and she knew that was because of Nathan and Haley's parenting.

They had a little boy that would make anybody proud.

He was such an amazing kid.

"Come on, Jamie, eat up then you can open your presents." Nathan said, and Peyton sent him a small smile.

. . .

"Thanks, uncle Lucas." Jamie said, holding up a Dr Seuss book.

"How do you know it's from me, you didn't even check the tag!" Lucas laughed.

"It's a book..." Jamie said dead pan.

Everyone knew that Lucas loved books...even Jamie.

"Well that's all of them. Did you get everything you wanted?" Nathan said, and Jamie smiled.

"Almost, although there's something I wanted that I didn't get."

"Oh really, well luckily there's still one more to open." Brooke said, her arms wrapped around Peyton's waist as the blonde sat on her lap.

"Really?" Jamie's eyes lit up.

"Really." Haley laughed, handing him a big present that was wrapped in bright paper.

Jamie checked the tag.

It was a present from Peyton.

He ripped the paper off quickly and excitedly and his face lit up with excitement as he saw what she had got him.

"It's a wii! Thank you, Aunt Peyton, I love it!" Jamie said, running over to hug her.

She leaned forward to hug him, and Brooke began to rub circles on the small of her back.

Haley and Lindsay couldn't help but notice that Brooke's eyes kept darting downwards, obviously checking out the underwear her blonde best friend was wearing.

"Mama can I play?" Jamie said, pointing to the wii.

"Sure buddy, daddy will set it up for you." Haley smiled.

"Aunt Peyton, you wanna play with me?" He asked, smiling up at her.

"I'd love to."

* * *

Brooke, Haley, and Lindsay were in the kitchen sipping glasses of wine, looking into the living room where Peyton and Jamie were playing a racing game on the wii.

The little boy had chosen a racing game as he knew that Peyton couldn't play any sports games where she had to stand up.

He was such a considerate little boy.

The guys were in the living room with Peyton and Jamie.

"Jamie, how does it feel to know your getting beat by a girl?" Skills laughed, commenting on the fact that Peyton was winning.

"You suck, Uncle Skills." Jamie said, concentrating on the game.

"Aunt Peyton sucks for purposely trying to beat a five year old. Seriously P Sawyer?" Skills said sarcastically, sending Peyton a wink to let her know that he was joking.

"I play to win, dude." She shrugged, but while she was talking to skills, Jamie had managed to overtake her in the game.

"Yes, I'm winning!" Jamie announced happily.

"Damn it!"

Brooke watched, and laughed at her best friend, who was having lots of fun.

Haley and Lindsay decided that moment was as good a time as any to ask Brooke what was going on between her and Peyton.

"Hey Brooke, I don't mean to sound presumptuous or anything, but you and Peyton, you've been acting kind of... coupley." Lindsay said, and Brooke looked her with an eyebrow raised.

"Coupley?"

"Yeah, like... Like a couple." Haley smiled, and Brooke let her head drop to the counter.

When she sat back up she was smiling.

"Yeah like a couple... Without the kissing, or the sex." Brooke said, looking over at Peyton, and Haley and Lindsay grew intrigued and excited.

"Brooke, do you want to... have sex with Peyton?" Haley asked tentatively, as to make sure she didn't offend the brunette.

Brooke was quiet for a few seconds, still looking at Peyton as she mulled over what Haley had asked.

"Yeah..." She breathed, and Haley and Lindsay jumped in excitement.

"Does she know?" Lindsay asked.

"We kissed last week, and it was amazing."

"Oh my God, really, this is so exciting!" Haley exclaimed in a hushed tone.

"Yeah... But unfortunately we haven't talked about it."

"What, why?" Lindsay asked.

"I don't know what to say. I want to talk about it, but I don't know how she feels. And she's right on the cusp of a full recovery and I don't want her to regress, you know?"

"Brooke, she won't regress. Did it ever occur to you that maybe this is exactly what she needs?" Haley suggested.

"What, sex?" Brooke asked, her eyebrows raised, and her voice laced with sarcasm.

"No smart-ass. You!" Haley told her.

"But I don't know how she feels!" Brooke said, dropping her head onto the counter again.

"How do you actually feel, Brooke?" Lindsay asked, noticing that all Brooke had really talked about was sex and a kiss.

Brooke looked over at Peyton again, and the blonde turned around and sent her a small smile.

"I love her..." She breathed like it was a relief to finally say it. "I love her. I'm _in_ love with her."

"Oh my God, Brooke..." Haley said happily, tears gathering in her eyes. "You have to tell her."

"But I..." Brooke began, but Lindsay cut her off.

"And none of this 'you don't know how she feels' crap. I know what I saw between you two today, and that girl feels the same!"

"You think so?" Brooke asked meekly.

"Yes!" Haley and Lindsay answered at the same time, and Brooke smiled widely.

"I didn't even know that you or Peyton were gay." Lindsay said, and Brooke shrugged.

"Me either to be honest, but I've always had this feeling about Peyton that we're meant to be more than friends. She's my soul mate, you know, and when I think about it, there's no one else for me but her."

"Oh Brooke, this is so amazing." Haley said, the tears still in her eyes.

"Yeah, okay, Hales..." Brooke laughed.

"You have to tell her Brooke, and it has to be huge, and romantic, because she deserves it. And Lindsay and I will help you." Haley said excitedly, and Lindsay nodded in agreement.

Brooke smiled and nodded her head. "I want to tell her, but I will need your help."

* * *

"Take these, sweetie." Brooke said, handing Peyton her meds and a bottle of water as they sat on the couch in Nathan and Haleys living room, Peyton on Brooke's lap.

Peyton took them, then rested her head against Brooke's chest.

"You tired, my girl?" Brooke said softly, running her hand through Peyton's hair, and the blonde nodded.

"My spare room is empty, you can go rest in there if you want to. You and Brooke can stay the night." Haley said, and Peyton sat up.

"Thank-you Haley, that would be good," she smiled. "Will you help me upstairs, Brooke?"

They stood up, and Peyton walked with her sticks while Brooke guided her with her hands on her hips.

They disappeared up the stairs and into the spare room.

Half an hour later, Brooke hadn't come back down the stairs, and Haley went up to see if they were okay.

When she opened the door, she found Brooke and Peyton asleep cuddled up together, their arms and legs entwined, and their foreheads touching.

Nathan joined his wife and wrapped his arms around her.

"Did you notice how close they were, today?" he asked, and Haley turned to face him.

"Nathan... They're in love." She smiled.

"Well imagine that." He smiled, letting Haley know that he could have told her that a long time ago.

"Those two were meant to be from the start."

* * *

** Reviews keep me motivated...**


	13. Chapter 13

"We brought coffee, bagels, and a big yellow legal pad full of romantic ideas!" Haley chirped happily, walking into Clothes' over Bro's with Lindsay in tow.

After Brooke telling them that she was in love with Peyton, Haley and Lindsay decided that they were going to help her come up with a big, romantic, way of telling the blonde that she loved her.

"You guys…" Brooke said, blushing slightly. She knew they were coming over, but she hadn't expected them to have already come up with ideas.

They sat down on the couch in the middle of the store and Haley handed Brooke the legal pad she brought with her.

"Wow, that's some amount of ideas Hales… You know it's me professing my love right, not you." Brooke said jokingly, to which Haley gave her a sarcastic look while Lindsay laughed audibly.

"I'm just excited about this." Haley smiled, and Brooke blushed again.

"I know…I just hope she feels the same." Brooke said, lowering her head.

"She does!" Lindsay and Haley exclaimed at the same time.

"How have things been with you two since the party?" Lindsay asked.

It was now Monday.

"Good. I mean, just the same as they've been for the past few weeks, but it's been good. We've been flirting like crazy; At least I think we have anyway." Brooke exclaimed.

"Oh it's definitely flirting, I know what I seen on Friday night." Haley laughed, which made Brooke blush yet again.

"So, these ideas…" Brooke started, changing the subject.

"Oh right, yeah. So, I was thinking, candlelit dinner with all her favourite foods of course, since she is eating a little now. White lilies because I_ know_ she loves them, soft music, and a gift, like a bracelet or something, as a keepsake of the night you got together…" Haley started.

"That sounds nice." Brooke smiled, thinking about it.

"Sure does, and then you sit down to eat, and just before dessert, you take her hand and you tell her exactly how you feel about her. Talk from the heart." Lindsay finished for Haley.

"I know what I want to say to her…I think. I mean, a girl knows what a girl wants to hear right? Only, what I want to say, I really _really, _mean it with all my heart." Brooke said, her voice soft and quiet.

"We know sweetie," Haley said, reaching over at placing her hand over Brooke's.

"So, ideas, again!" Brooke said cheerfully.

"Yes, so, what do you think about that first idea?" Lindsay smiled.

"Well, actually, I kind of had an idea of my own, but it involves music so I'm kind of not sure…"

"Music?" Haley enquired.

"Well, lyrics mostly, but I don't know the words to any love songs in a genre that she likes." Brooke sighed.

"Well, if there's one thing I know, it's that Peyton loves what's in _your_ heart. So, pick a song that you know and love, because using a song that _you_ love to show her how you feel will let her know that what you're saying is really coming from your heart, you know?" Haley smiled, and Brooke thought over what she was saying.

"I think you're right, Tutor Mom." Brooke winked, and began to scribble notes onto the legal pad Haley had handed her moments before.

* * *

5 days later…. Friday.

"Okay, there ya go." Haley said, handing Peyton her sticks after she helped her out of the car outside of Tric.

Haley was taking Peyton to her office for the first time since she got sick, while Brooke was setting up for the big love declaration that was going to be happening that evening.

"Hales, I already told you I want to try without them!" Peyton protested.

"Peyton…" Haley sighed.

"Look, Brooke won't let we walk outside without them and I know I can do it." Peyton said calmly, giving Haley a pleading look, and Haley sighed then smiled.

"Okay, we'll give it a try."

Peyton began to walk slowly, but very well, and Haley smiled; her friend was getting better.

Haley assisted her up the stairs, but as soon as they were inside Tric, she began to walk again, this time quickly, almost in a run.

"Hales, I can do it, I can walk just fine!" Peyton started, smiling.

"I know, sweetie, that's awesome!"

"Oh my God, I'll be able to drive now too!...Oh, but you have to back me up with Brooke though, otherwise she won't let me." Peyton said seriously, and Haley laughed.

"I will…"

They walked into Peyton's office, and Peyton took a deep breath as she looked around.

She could remember the last time she was there, and it was the beginning of a downward spiral.

"Peyt, are you okay?" Haley asked, rubbing her shoulder. She had drifted away into her own little world.

Peyton blinked a few times then turned to Haley. "Yes, I'm fine, it's just…weird, being here, you know?"

"I know. Come sit down, I'll show you what I've been doing while you were gone."

Haley showed Peyton everything she had done with the label. She had booked Mia a place on a very profitable tour, and talent scouted some unsigned acts that had showed an interest in signing, and Peyton was very impressed.

"Wow, I think I'll go MIA more often, although for good reasons, and leave you to do my job." Peyton laughed.

"Yeah…no. You're back now, so get your skinny ass to work." Haley winked, then laughed.

"I'm so happy now Hales, you know? Brooke, she's helped me so much, I don't think I'd be able to walk as good, or even have the strength to be in this office if it wasn't for her." Peyton said, her tone serious and sincere.

"Brooke's good for you." Haley smiled.

"Yeah…" Peyton breathed, and Haley could tell there was more that she wanted to say, but knew she wouldn't.

"Hey Peyt. I don't want to make assumptions, but is there something going on between you and Brooke?" Haley questioned, knowing exactly what was going on, but wanting to hear how Peyton felt too.

"Wha, what do you mean?" Peyton asked, playing dumb.

"Well, you were acting kinda like you were a couple at Jamie's party, and I just wondered if maybe…you are?" Haley said, smiling.

"What if we were?" Peyton asked, tilting her head to the side slightly.

"Well, if you and Brooke were ever a couple, I think it'd be great. I think you both deserve someone as amazing as each other." Haley smiled, and Peyton blushed and smile, which didn't go unnoticed by Haley. "I saw that little smile, Peyton Sawyer, what's going on?"

Peyton sighed and leant her head on her desk.

She sat back up and Haley tilted her head at her, silently telling her to start talking.

"There's nothing going on, and that's the problem." Peyton sighed.

"Do you have feelings for her?" Haley asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah…" Peyton breathed, and Haley smiled wide.

"Strong feelings?"

"I love her, Hales."

Meanwhile, Brooke and Lindsay were at the River Court.

"Oh my god, I am covered in paint, and this does not look good!" Brooke huffed, standing up and looking over her work, while Lindsay dotted candles around.

"It look's beautiful Brooke, and Peyton's going to love it." Lindsay smiled.

"You think? I mean, I'm not so sure about the song…" Brooke said, biting her lip with worry.

"It came from you, so yes, she's going to love it."

Brooke looked at it hesitantly, before sitting down again to continue with her work.

"So, how's this thing gonna go down tonight?" Lindsay asked, trying to talk Brooke around from worrying.

"Well, I'm going to Nathan and Haley's to get ready. You and Lucas will go get Peyton, and Nathan and Haley will help me put the finishing touches onto here. I told Lucas I'd call you guys when I'm ready for Peyton." Brooke smiled.

"Cool."

* * *

Peyton was lying on the couch in her sweats drinking a bottle of water. It was getting dark outside and she hadn't seen Brooke all day, and when she'd spoken to her on the phone, all she'd said was that she would be home late, and was very vague otherwise.

She jumped when there was a knock at the front door.

She went to the door, and looked through the peep hole to see Lucas and Lindsay standing there.

She furrowed her brows while opening the door.

"Go put some shoes on, we're going out." Lucas smiled, and Peyton squinted at him.

"What if I'm quite happy sitting here in my sweats watching Big Bang Theory?"

"Sheldon Cooper can wait, this however, cannot." Lindsay said, turning Peyton around, and marching her into the house by the shoulders, Lucas following behind her.

"Where are we going?!" Peyton protested, allowing Lindsay to lead her into the house anyway.

"That, we cannot tell you. But, it is important, so go put your converse on then move your skinny ass out into the car." Lucas laughed.

Peyton turned her head and squinted at him again, before going into her bedroom to put her converse and her hoody on. She quickly fixed her hair so it was slightly wavy with a small amount of curls bunched at the bottom, and applied a little bit of mascara and lip gloss.

Yes, she was in sweats, but she still had to look even a little bit good… she didn't know where she was going after all.

"Ready?" Lindsay smiled when she returned to the living room again, and she nodded her head then followed Lucas and Lindsay out to Lucas' mustang.

Little did she know that was she was on her way to a happy future with Brooke…

* * *

**Next Chapter: The big revelation**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey Guys, I'm wondering if you'll be able to help a friend out…  
I'm currently working on my end of year project, which I need to pass in order to progress into 3****rd**** of University. Part of this project is to make a Survey and get as much responses as I can for it. **

**The survey is about Ghost Walks in Edinburgh's Royal Mile. So… If you have a spare little minute, could you please answer my survey? **_**It's only 10 'tick the box' questions and will literally take you one minute.**_

**You can access the link from my profile. Thank-you for your help :)**

* * *

"Seriously, where are we going?" Peyton asked from the back seat of Lucas' mustang.

They were driving past Tree Hill High School, on their way to the River Court.

"Out." Lucas laughed. He couldn't tell her where they were going, but he was getting some mild entertainment out of annoying her with his genericness.

"Dude, this is starting to creep me out, I feel like I'm on a journey to my death." Peyton complained, and Lucas and Lindsay laughed.

"That's some imagination you have there. And here I was thinking that it was Lucas who was the writer." Lindsay laughed, to which Peyton crossed her arms, slumped back against her seat, and pouted.

"We'll be there in a few minutes, Peyt." Lucas smiled, and Peyton ignored him.

. . .

"So you're all set?" Haley asked Brooke, looking around, as Nathan lit the last of the candles that were dotted around the River Court.

It was a clam night with very little wind, so the candles would stay lit.

Brooke switched on the electricity and fairy lights lit up, which she and Lindsay had hung on the trees earlier that day.

"Yup, all done." Brooke said, crossing her arms in nervousness.

The paint from earlier had dried completely, and the place was looking so romantic that it brought a slight tear to Haley's eye.

"Don't be nervous, Brooke. This place looks amazing, and I know that Peyton feel's the same as you do, so I know this night is going to go perfectly." Haley smiled.

"Jinx!" Brooke exclaimed. "When you say something in Tree Hill is going to go perfectly, you jinx it! Which means that tonight is now _not_ going to go perfectly."

"Brooke, in the grand scheme of things, how much has actually gone wrong? Out of every happy event that we've had?..." Haley started.

"Only a few things I suppose…" Brooke said quietly.

"Exactly! So many things have gone perfectly, and this will too. So get a smile on that pretty face, and tell your girl that you love her." Haley said chirpily.

"And you can tell her now. They're here." Nathan said, pointing to the road, where Lucas was parking the car.

Brooke took a deep breath, and Haley pulled her in for a quick hug.

"Good luck."

Nathan hugged her quickly too, then he and Haley walked over to meet Lucas, Lindsay, and Peyton, leaving Brooke alone on the River Court.

. . .

"What's going on?" Peyton asked, climbing out of the car. She could see the lights on the River Court, but she couldn't see the painted words.

And she could see a very dolled up Brooke, but she had no idea why she was there, or what was actually going on.

"Go see." Nathan shrugged, smiling widely. "We'll be right here."

Peyton squinted at him, before doing as he said anyway.

Brooke's heart began to race as she watched Peyton begin to walk towards her.

The moment was here.

This was it.

As Peyton walked towards Brooke, she began to read the words painted onto the concrete in black paint.

She looked at the top left hand corner first.

'_Oh her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they're not shining,  
her hair, her hair, falls perfectly without her trying,  
she's so beautiful, and I tell her every day.'_

Peyton smiled, and a small tear rolled down her cheek. Brooke did tell she was beautiful; every single day.

She looked at the top right hand corner next.

'_I know, I know, when I compliment her she won't believe me,  
and it's so, it's so, sad to think that she don't see what I see,  
but every time she asks me do I look okay, I say;'_

She was almost on the River Court now, but instead of looking at Brooke, she looked at the bottom left hand corner of the concrete.

'_Her lips, her lips, I could kiss them all day if she'd let me,  
her laugh, her laugh, she hates, but I think it's so sexy,  
she's so beautiful, and I tell her every day.'_

Peyton was crying freely now.

This was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her.

She then looked at the bottom right hand corner of the court.

'_Oh, you know, you know, you know, I'd never ask you to change,  
if perfects what you're searching for then just stay the same,  
so don't even bother asking if you look okay, you know I'll say;'_

Peyton couldn't believe the thoughtfulness and kindness Brooke had put into this; It fit her situation, and her illness, so perfectly.

She was just about to walk onto the river court to meet Brooke, until her eyes landed on the words painted onto the middle of the concrete, just beside where Brooke was standing.

'_When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change,  
'cause you're amazing, just the way you are.  
And when you smile, the whole world stops and stare's for a while,  
'cause you're amazing, just the way you are.'_

Below that, the paint was red, and the words read;

'_P Sawyer, you're amazing just the way you are,  
And I am so unbelievably in love with you.  
Yours forever. B Davis.'_

Peyton looked at Brooke, who was standing in the middle of the River Court, with tears in her eyes and a happy, but pensive, look on her face.

Peyton took a deep breath, and walked onto the concrete to meet her.

"Brooke…" Peyton smiled, looking around again as she met Brooke in the middle of the court.

Brooke took Peyton's hands in her own, and took a deep breath to steady her voice so that her happy sobs wouldn't restrict her from speaking.

"Peyton, I never expected to meet my soul mate at eight years old. Since I've been old enough to know what love is, I've been searching for the love of my life, not realising that it's been right in front of me all along. These past few months with you have opened my eyes, and I've realised that...it's you Peyton." Brooke started, chocking out a sob, and smiling when Peyton reached out to wipe the tears from her eyes. "You're the love of my life Peyton, you're my soul mate, and I…I love you. I'm in love with you." She finished, letting out a sob again, and laughing slightly when Peyton lifted her head up and she saw the blonde standing there with tears in her beautiful green eyes and a huge grin on her face.

Peyton stayed silent for a few seconds, just looking into Brooke's eyes, processing everything the brunette had said, and Brooke began to panic slightly.

"Peyton…?" Brooke questioned, but Peyton shut her up by grabbing her and fusing their lips together in a passionate, loving, kiss.

And that kiss felt even better than the last one.

Peyton swiped her tongue over Brooke's lips almost instantly, and Brooke was quick to grant her entry.

Brooke wrapped her arms around Peyton's neck, and Peyton held her close, as they poured their strongest feelings for each other into their passionate lip lock.

They giggled and pulled away when they heard a loud cheer, and applause, from their friends, who they'd forgotten were standing at the car watching the whole scene unfold.

"I love you too, Brooke Davis, more than I ever thought I could love anyone. I am so in love with you." Peyton smiled, resting her head against Brooke's. "And I've been waiting so long to hear you say that you feel the same."

"I feel the same, baby, I feel the same." Brooke whispered, attaching their lips again.

They kissed passionately again for a few more minutes.

When they pulled away, Peyton asked; "So, where does this leave us?"

"I know this is going to sound totally cheesy, and Peyton Sawyer doesn't do cheesy, but I want you to be my girlfriend." Brooke smiled, their foreheads resting against the others again.

"Well for you I do, because I want to be your girlfriend." Peyton smiled.

"Then you're my girlfriend." Brooke said, kissing her again quickly, before turning to their friends, and waving for them to join her and Peyton on the River Court.

"Well?..." Haley asked when they walked onto the court. She could already guess how everything had gone judging by the kissing, but she wanted to confirm it anyway.

"Well…" Peyton started, turning her attention to Brooke.

Brooke took Peyton's hand in her own, and smiled a wide smile to her friends. "We're together!" She said, immense happiness radiating from her tone.

Haley and Lindsay screamed with excitement and grabbed their friends into tight hugs.

Lucas and Nathan hugged them too.

"See Nate, I told you they're in love!" Haley smiled, clapping her hands together.

* * *

"Mmm, I love you so much." Brooke breathed, laying on top of Peyton as they made out on Peyton's bed.

"I love you too," Peyton smiled, rubbing her nose against Brooke's before attaching their lips again.

Their tongues met, and danced in perfect sync, and soon their hands were rubbing all over the others body.

The kiss became hot and heavy, and all Brooke could see was Peyton; her girlfriend, and the rising heat between them.

She kissed Peyton with even more hunger, and began to slide her hands underneath the her shirt.

And that's when Peyton tensed up, and Brooke pulled away.

"Are you okay?" Brooke panicked, sitting up and moving away from Peyton.

"Yeah, I've never been better." Peyton started, sitting up to lean against the headboard. She looked down, and Brooke could see the worry in her eyes. "It's just, I'm not ready to…you know."

Brooke smiled, and sat down next to Peyton, pulling her into her arms.

She could tell that Peyton was feeling self-conscious, but that didn't matter to Brooke, because she'd wait for Peyton as long as it took.

"I'm sorry baby, I didn't even think. I shouldn't have…" Brooke began, running her hand through Peyton's hair, but Peyton cut her off.

"No, it's okay, I mean, I want to have sex with you, I do, It's just…I'm not ready yet, you know." She smiled.

"Don't worry; I'll wait for you as long as it takes. I love you." Brooke smiled; pressing her lips to Peyton's again, before pulling the blonde down onto the bed again so she could cuddle her for a while.

"I love you too."

* * *

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	15. Chapter 15

**Three Months Later…**

"Oh my God, Brooke…" Peyton breathed, as the brunette kissed her neck, her hands up her shirt, caressing her breasts. "Oh, that feels nice."

They were on the couch, engaged in a heavy make out session.

Brooke giggled lightly while continuing to kiss her girlfriends neck.

Brooke trailed her hands down Peyton's sides, over her torso, until she reached the button of her jeans.

She began to pop the button, and that's when Peyton stopped her.

She sat up, and fixed her top, and Brooke flopped back on the couch, sighing in frustration.

For the first few months, Brooke had been fine about waiting. She'd been perfectly understanding, and she got why Peyton wanted to take it slow.

But three months into the relationship, Peyton was back to perfect health, the scars on her face were gone, her body had filled out again, and most importantly, she knew that Brooke was so in love with her and found her unbelievably beautiful.

So Brooke was starting to wonder what was holding Peyton back.

Especially when she was more than dying to sleep with Peyton.

She wouldn't let it affect her relationship with Peyton though. Peyton was her forever, and sex was nothing in the grand scheme of things, she was serious when she said she would wait _forever. _It was just, understandably, getting a little bit frustrating for her.

"I'm sorry Brooke, I just…" Peyton began.

"It's okay." Brooke sighed, giving her a small smile.

"It's not though, I can tell you're getting tired of waiting, but I'm just…not ready." Peyton explained, her voice sad, as she moved to sit next to Brooke, taking her hand as she did so.

"I'm not getting tired of waiting, baby, it's not like that. I'm just a little frustrated because I'm really _really _ready, you know?" Brooke said, pulling Peyton into her arms.

"I'm sorry." Peyton said once again.

"Don't be. It's okay." Brooke smiled, leaning in to place a gentle kiss to Peyton's lips.

* * *

"Hey Hales…" Brooke said with a sigh as she flopped down on top of a desk in Haley's class room.

Haley had a free period, and Brooke was taking advantage of the company while Peyton was at Red Bedroom having a conference call with Alistair and some of the other executives at Sire Records.

"You sound chipper." Haley said sarcastically, smiling up at Brooke from her seat behind her desk.

"I'm fine…" Brooke said, her tone still dull.

"Where's Peyton?" Haley asked.

"At the office taking a conference call." Brooke pouted, obviously missing her girl despite their sex situation.

"Awww, you sound like you're missing her." Haley teased slightly. "Is that what's got you sitting here with a big grey cloud hanging over your head?"

Brooke sighed again.

"I want to fuck her so bad, Haley!" Brooke blurted out of nowhere.

"Okay, wow, where the hell did that come from!?" Haley laughed.

"Sorry, I'm just getting kind of frustrated…" Brooke sighed.

"Well I think you should tell her that, not me." Haley laughed again.

"She knows, but she's not ready." Brooke explained.

"Wait a minute, you guys haven't…? Haley asked in surprise.

"No…not yet."

"Why isn't she ready?" Haley asked.

"I don't know. I mean, she knows I love her, and she knows how beautiful I think she is, so I just don't know." Brooke began to explain. "I mean, we're making out in bed, or on the couch, and she just freezes up."

"Brooke, have you ever considered, you know, making it special for her." Haley suggested.

"What…what do you mean?" Brooke asked, just to clarify.

"Like, don't just try it when you two are making out. Arrange something for just the two of you, pamper her, make her feel as special as you know she is, tell her how beautiful she is and how much you love her and want her, and let things go from there." Haley suggested.

"But I do tell her those things, every single day." Brooke said.

"Then tell her some more." Haley shrugged.

Brooke sat in silence for a few moments, then she jumped up from the desk.

"I have an idea!"

* * *

"Baby, I'm home." Peyton shouted, as she walked into the house to see that Brooke wasn't in the living room.

"Up here!" Brooke shouted from upstairs, and Peyton walked upstairs and into Brooke's home-office, to see her sitting at her desk, browsing on her laptop.

"My girl looks so sexy when she's working." Peyton said, walking over to Brooke's desk, and Brooke held her arms out so Peyton could sit on her lap.

"My girl looks sexy all the time." Brooke replied, and Peyton leant down to kiss her.

"Mmm, strawberry lip-gloss." Peyton mused as they pulled apart.

"What are you looking at?" She asked, as she looked at the laptop screen.

"Well…" Brooke started. "What are your plans for next weekend?"

"Hanging out with you?" Peyton said, in a tone that was more of a question than an answer.

"Hanging out with me at Spa Hotel in Charlotte?" Brooke smiled, and Peyton's eyes lit up.

"Brooke you didn't!" Peyton exclaimed with excitement.

"Well, not yet, I had to check that you were good with next weekend. Here, have a look." Brooke replied, leaning forward so she could show Peyton the room she wanted to book.

Pent house suite, unlimited spa treatments, unlimited room service, hot tub, balcony, champagne, chocolates.

"This is very romantic, Brooke." Peyton said with a smile on her face, as she looked into Brooke's eyes.

"I just want to do nice things for you, because you deserve it." Brooke smiled.

"Are you sure this isn't about sex?" Peyton asked, cautiously.

Brooke sighed and threw her head back.

"No, no, I didn't mean anything by that, I…" Peyton said quickly, but Brooke smiled at her, causing her to stop.

"Peyt, you know I want to sleep with you, I haven't exactly made it a secret, and if it happens at the hotel, then it happens. If it doesn't, then it doesn't, it won't make me enjoy our trip any less." Brooke smiled.

Peyton hesitated for a few seconds.

"Are you sure?" She asked, kind of nervously.

"Yes, I'm sure. I love you, baby."

Peyton smiled. "I love you too, beautiful Davis. Go ahead and book the hotel, I can't wait for a weekend away with you."

While Brooke booked the trip, Peyton went downstairs to _their_ room to change.

And as she changed into her sweats, she began to think about sex.

She loved Brooke.

And she did want to sleep with her.

Of course she did.

So maybe she was ready?

She decided to wait until their trip. She would go prepared and see how she felt when they were in Charlotte. Then if she felt like the moment was right, she would make her move on Brooke.

* * *

**Apologies for the short chapter; it was a plot builder :)**

**Next Chapter- Breyton's trip to Charlotte.**

**Reviews keep me motivated.**


	16. Chapter 16

"You ready, baby?" Brooke asked, peeking her head around the bedroom door as Peyton was putting some last minute items into her weekend bag.

"Just a second, beautiful, I'm just finishing up in here." Peyton answered, blowing Brooke a kiss for good measure.

Brooke smiled before disappearing back into the living room, and Peyton leant down and pulled a bag out from under the bed.

She reached in and pulled out a very small, red, silk and lace, nightie, and a matching thong.

She bit the inside of her cheek in question as she held them in her arms, wondering if she should pack the items.

Was she ready to wear them for Brooke?

Was she ready to have sex with Brooke?

She still didn't know.

Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she threw the items into her bag quickly, and zipped it up before she had the chance to change her mind.

. . .

"You know what we haven't played in like forever?" Brooke started, smiling at Peyton. "The radio game." She finished, and Peyton laughed.

They were on their way to Charlotte, and Brooke was driving the Comet. She'd commented before they left that one of the reasons she knew that Peyton loved her was because she let her drive her beloved car…No-one except for Peyton _ever_ drove that car!

"Im sure the last time we played that game was on the way to New York for Rogue Vogue." Peyton said.

"It was! How awkward was that?" Brooke laughed. "I asked about Lucas and it gave me 'Torn between two lovers'. I'm telling you P Sawyer, the radio game is _never_ wrong!"

"Yes, but look how those two lovers turned out." Peyton laughed, and Brooke laughed too.

"They ended up loving each other." Brooke said, reaching over to hold Peyton's hand, and the blonde leaned over and kissed her cheek softly. "Anyway, back to my original point, let's play the radio game, for old time sake!"

"Okay, but I must remind you; you have to take the first answer you get." Peyton pointed out.

"Okay, I'll go first." Brooke smiled, reaching over to shuffle the radio channels. "What will happen on my trip to Charlotte with Peyton?"

The radio channel skipped and Brooke's answer began to play.

'_Let me lick you up and down, 'til you say stop. Let me play with your body, baby, make you real hot'._

Brooke quickly changed the channel again, and they turned to look at each other, the atmosphere instantly turning awkward.

"What was it you said about the first answer?" Brooke gulped.

"Are…Are they even allowed to play that stuff at this time of day." Peyton stammered, looking down and running a hand through her hair.

"Um, I wouldn't have thought so…" Brooke started, but she felt relief wash over her when she found a reason to change the subject. "Oh, isn't it time for your meds, baby?"

She heard Peyton let out a breath of relief.

"Yes!" Peyton smiled, reaching into her purse to retrieve her pill box and a bottle of water.

. . .

"Baby, I still can't believe how beautiful it is up here…" Peyton said, as they stood out on the balcony in their hotel suite, looking out over Charlotte as the sun began to set.

They'd gotten to the hotel earlier that day, had some spa treatments, then had dinner. They had more spa treatments booked for the next day, but as of that moment, they were back in their suite sipping champagne on the balcony.

"I still can't believe how beautiful my girlfriend is." Brooke winked at her, and Peyton blushed. "I love it when you blush, it's very cute."

"Cute? That's not a word anyone's ever used to describe me." Peyton laughed.

"That's because they don't know you like I do." Brooke whispered, and Peyton turned to her and pulled her in for a soft but passionate kiss.

When they pulled away, Brooke held onto Peyton for a little while longer. "I had an idea, but if you don't want to then it's okay…" She began to ramble, but Peyton looked into her eyes, letting her know she was listening.

"We have that big Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom, and I was thinking we could maybe take a bubble bath together…" She started, and Peyton's eyes widened a little, so she decided to elaborate. "It doesn't have to be anything sexual, because I know you're not ready for that, I was just thinking it would be nice for us to be together and relax."

Peyton bit her cheek and thought about it for a few seconds, before smiling at Brooke.

"That would be nice."

Brooke's eyes lit up with happiness. "Okay, um, you get the bath going, and I'll go get us some more ice for the champagne."

Peyton started fill the tub, and Brooke left to go get some ice.

When Brooke returned she found Peyton in the bedroom, in her underwear, standing in front of the mirror.

She would have been turned on by the sight if it wasn't for the sad look on her loves face as she stared at her reflection, looking at the scars that covered her forearms.

That was why she was so reluctant to have sex; she was self-conscious about her scars.

"Baby…" Brooke said, her voice soft and sympathetic as she set the ice bucket she was holding down on the dresser by the door..

Peyton instantly tried to cover herself up.

"No, hey, don't do that." Brooke said quickly, walking over to Peyton and leading her over to sit on the bed.

"What's going on?" She asked softly, and Peyton shook her head.

"Nothing." Peyton answered, feigning ignorance.

"Yes there is. Are you worried about your scars?"

Peyton closed her eyes and flopped back onto the bed, before sitting back up again.

When she sat back up, Brooke could see tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"A little." She whispered, sadly.

"Baby…" Brooke started, but she didn't get the chance to finish as Peyton began to talk.

"I don't feel sexy, Brooke."

"You don't…?" Brooke said, she couldn't believe it, Peyton was the sexiest woman she'd ever seen…_ever_!

"No. Scars aren't sexy." Peyton whispered.

"Listen to me right now Peyton Sawyer, you are so beautiful, and so sexy, and…" Brooke said with sincerity, trying to find the right words to tell Peyton how beautiful she was.

And she said it in true Brooke Davis style.

"I'm not _dying_ to have sex with you just because I'm horny. I'm dying to have sex with you because I want to show you how _unbelievably_ beautiful you are by worshipping your body." Brooke finished, and Peyton blushed again like she did in the car.

"You really want to have sex with a girl who's covered in scars?"

Brooke lifted Peyton's arm and began to press kisses over her scars.

"I'd want to have sex with you no matter what you looked like, beautiful." Brooke said, looking into her eyes, and Peyton melted.

If Brooke kept talking like that, she'd definitely be getting sex at some point during their trip.

"Come here." Brooke said, standing up, stripping her clothes off as she walked backwards into the bathroom, where their bubble bath was now filled up.

She turned the taps off, then removed her bra and panties, as Peyton stood in front of her.

She didn't say anything as she walked forward and kissed Peyton's scar covered arms again, before reaching behind her and unclasping the blonde's bra, pulling it from her body.

Peyton tried to cover herself again but Brooke stopped her by pressing a gentle kiss to her lips.

"Trust me, baby."

Peyton nodded and dropped her arms to her sides, letting Brooke continue whatever it was she was doing.

Brooke dropped to her knees in front of her girl, and took a deep breath as she hooked her fingers into Peyton's panties and dragged them down her long legs, exposing her most intimate area for the first time in an intimate context.

"Just trust me." Brooke whispered to Peyton, as Peyton stepped out of her underwear and Brooke dropped them beside her.

Brooke leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to Peyton's hip bone, and it took all the self control she had not to move lower and kiss her centre.

But she knew Peyton wasn't ready for that kind on intimate activity yet, so she stood up and looked deep into her eyes.

"Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer, you are so beautiful it makes my heart race. Whenever you're near me, I feel like I can't breathe, and my hands shake, because you make me so nervous, even if I don't show it. See, feel it…" Brooke said, holding her hand out to Peyton, and Peyton took it, feeling the brunette shake. "So don't you_ ever_ feel like you're not sexy, because oh my god baby, I've never met _anyone_ who even comes close to you."

Peyton smiled wide, completely speechless, and leaned forward to kiss Brooke with passion, completely and utterly in awe of her in that moment.

Brooke pulled away, and led Peyton into the tub by the hand.

She sunk into the water and rested her back against the tub, and Peyton settled between her legs, her back to the brunette.

Brooke poured them both a glass of champagne, which Peyton had put in the bathroom earlier, then wrapped her arms around Peyton's body, and they lay together, relaxing in the bubbles.

Brooke leaned forward and began kiss Peyton's neck and shoulder, and the blonde let out a moan.

'Damn, why did that have to be the sexiest noise ever!' Brooke thought to herself; not being able to have sex with Peyton was already hard enough.

"Brooke, you know how much I love you, right?" Peyton asked, causing Brooke to stop her assault on her neck.

"Of course I do, baby." Brooke smiled.

"Good. I was just checking. Because I do love you, you're my soul mate."

"I love you too." Brooke said, resting her head on Peyton's shoulder as she began to rub her hands up and down Peyton's sides.

Peyton turned her head and attached her lips to Brooke's, and Brooke instantly opened her mouth to let Peyton slip her tongue in.

. . .

Back in the bedroom, Brooke and Peyton had changed into their pyjamas for the night.

"You ready, P Sawyer?" Brooke asked, lingering by the door, ready to go back into the living room to watch a movie with her girl.

Peyton was quiet for a few seconds, before turning to Brooke.

"Actually baby, could you give me a few minutes?"

Brooke's brows knitted together, before she smiled and went to move out of the room. "Sure baby, I'll see you soon."

She closed the door behind her, and Peyton lifted her weekend bag onto the bed.

She lifted out her nightie and thong, and held the nighty against her body and looked in the mirror.

She was seriously considering taking things to the next level.

After everything Brooke had said to her, she wasn't afraid anymore.

And she had to admit; when Brooke was on her knees, removing her panties, a part of her was hoping that the brunette would just take the plunge and kiss her between her legs.

But she knew that Brooke was trying to be understanding and refraining from trying to touch her because she thought she wasn't ready.

But after Brooke's words that night, Peyton decided she was ready, and the only thing standing between them now was Peyton's bravery and confidence.

All she had to do was slip on her nighty, walk into that living room, and take Brooke by the hand.

She took a deep breath and stripped off her pyjamas, then she pulled on her thong and nighty.

She fixed her hair slightly so it fell over her shoulders, but she didn't put anymore make-up on than what she already had.

She checked her reflection in the mirror, and although she still felt that little bit self-conscious, she reminded herself of everything Brooke had said.

She walked to the door, and opened it slightly.

This was it.

Once she went out there, there was no going back.

She couldn't do that to Brooke.

She took a deep breath and walked out of the bedroom, where she found Brooke sitting on the big plush couch, waiting for her.

The brunette turned around and the sight of the blonde took her breath away.

"Wow, Peyton, you look…wow." She breathed, but Peyton didn't say anything as she walked to the couch and held her hand out to Brooke.

Brooke took her hand and stood up, smiling at her, waiting for her to say something.

"Come to bed with me, Brooke Davis." Peyton whispered.

"You mean…?" Brooke said, finding it damn near impossible to hide the grin spreading over her face.

"I'm ready."

Brooke kissed her softly and led them into the bedroom, managing to lift Peyton up enough to lay her down on the king sized bed.

. . .

Brooke rested her weight on top of Peyton as they made-out romantically, Brooke's hands roaming over Peyton's long legs, as Peyton removed Brooke's pyjama top so the brunette was dressed in nothing but a pair of boy-shorts.

She slept without a bra.

"That nightie is so fucking sexy, but it's a little unfair that you're wearing more clothes than I am." Brooke whispered against Peyton's lips, and Peyton giggled.

The blonde shrugged, a seductive look on her face, and Brooke kissed her again while moving the straps of her nighty from her shoulders, pulling the silky fabric down over her body.

She sat back and moved the nightly down over Peyton's legs, then she threw it onto the floor as she stared at the beautiful blonde, laying there in nothing but a red lace thong, her breasts fully exposed to her.

She felt a familiar pulsating between her legs, but this pulsating was stronger than it ever had been before. Not only because this was finally happening, but because of Peyton herself, she was a Goddess!

"Fuck Peyton, the things you do to me!" Brooke breathed, leaning down to take the blondes lips again.

And that was the end of the talking.

Their kiss turned heated, tongues dancing and playing, as they looked into each other's eyes.

One of Peyton's hands wrapped around Brooke's neck and the other one moved up and down, over her ribcage.

Brooke rested her weight on one arm while her other hand moved over Peyton's torso, onto her breasts, and the blonde moaned through their kiss.

Brooke moved her mouth to Peyton's neck as her hand cupped one of Peyton's breasts, and Peyton's head fell back.

Brooke smirked against Peyton's skin as she continued to kiss downward, towards Peyton's breasts.

Peyton was breathing heavily and arching her back, spurring Brooke on, and she moaned out loud when she felt Brooke's mouth close around her nipple.

Brooke's tongue swirled around the pink bud, flicking back and fourth at random intervals, and it wasn't long before Peyton was lifting her hips towards the beautiful brunette on top of her.

"God Brooke, I need… I need you." Peyton moaned, and Brooke switched her attention to her other nipple as she slowly and torturously slid her hand down Peyton's body to the hem of her thong.

She played with the little bow on the front of them, and Peyton began to buck her hips with more force.

"Please…" Peyton moaned. She was heady with lust and need now, and the teasing she was receiving from her girlfriend was driving her crazy!

Brooke moved her hand and and very lightly cupped the blonde's most intimate area, and Peyton sucked in a breath, letting it out again as Brooke gently ran a finger back up over her panty covered centre.

Brooke's mouth left Peyton's breast, and she kissed downwards, over her torso, and her ribcage, passed her bellybutton, to the hem of her thong.

She looked up to see Peyton laying there with her eye's closed, lost in bliss.

She hooked her fingers into the blondes red thong, and kept her eyes on her girlfriend as she slowly slid her thong down her legs.

As she did so, Peyton's eyes opened and she and Brooke looked into each other's eyes as the brunette dropped her thong onto the floor.

"Are you okay?" Brooke asked, as she leaned in a little closer between Peyton's legs, her eyes never leaving Peyton's.

"This feels so _right_." Peyton smiled, and Brooke smiled back, before turning her attention back to the task at hand.

Brooke stared at Peyton's centre.

Her delicious, smooth, beautiful, centre.

Yes, she'd just touched her over her underwear, but this was different.

This was it.

This was the moment.

And it was the most amazing, intense, feeling, Brooke had ever felt.

She shakily reached a finger over and gently ran it over the blonde, realising how much she wanted this by how wet she was to the touch.

"You're so wet, baby." Brooke breathed in amazement, and she heard Peyton giggle softly.

"Because I want you, B Davis."

And that's all Brooke had to hear before she let her fingers disappear into the wet warmth of her girlfriend.

"Oh god, Brooke!" Peyton gasped sexily, it had been a while since she'd felt this, and what Brooke was doing to her was even more intense than anything she'd ever felt before.

Brooke let her fingers slide in and out of the wet warmth for a little while, before she was overcome by the temptation to taste the blonde who was spread out beneath her.

She pulled her fingers from Peyton's centre and the blonde whimpered at little at the loss of sensation, but it was soon replaced by another different, but equally amazing sensation.

She felt Brooke's tongue trace the length of her centre, and her hands instant tangled in Brooke's brunette hair.

Brooke slid her tongue inside of Peyton, and moaned at the taste of her.

If heaven had a taste, it would be the taste of Peyton Sawyer.

Peyton let out tiny little moans as Brooke continued to taste inside of her, but Brooke wasn't expecting the cry of pleasure she received when her tongue slid up over Peyton's clit.

"Oh my God, that's good!" Peyton cried, and Brooke decided then to focus her tongue on the swollen bundle of nerves it was currently worshiping.

She swirled her tongue over it, flicked her tongue over it, and sucked it into her mouth, realising quickly that her girl loved it when she sucked it into her mouth and flicked her tongue up and down over it.

It wasn't long before Peyton began to tremble, her legs shaking, her hands gripping the sheets beneath her, as Brooke made her body uncontrollable with pleasure.

"Oh, Brooke, oh God baby, oh my god!" Was all Peyton could say, all other words lost on her, and Brooke could tell she was close.

Brooke pulled away momentarily. "Can you come for me, baby?"

When Peyton nodded her yes with enthusiasm, Brooke attached her mouth to her clit again and this time slid two fingers inside of her.

Peyton reached that level of pleasure again almost instantly, and simultaneously, Brooke felt the hand in her hair tighten into her brunette locks, as the blonde's inner muscles suddenly tightened around her fingers.

Then Peyton's whole body stiffened, her head falling backwards, a scream of pure unadulterated pleasure escaping her lips, as she came all over Brooke's fingers.

Removing her fingers, Brooke instantly replaced them with her mouth, cleaning up the blonde with her mouth, simply so she could finally experience the taste of her come.

It tasted even better than she could have dreamed.

She continued to lick until Peyton finally stopped her, guiding her head back up her body, so she could kiss her.

"That was more amazing than I could have ever imagined." Peyton whispered against Brooke's lips, tears of happiness in her eyes. "I love you so much, Brooke Davis."

"I love you too, Peyton Sawyer, I always have, and I always will."

The next thing Brooke knew, she was on her back, and Peyton's mouth was closing around her nipple.

"Oh my god, yes…" She breathed with happiness, it was unreal how long she'd waited for this, and even the feeling of Peyton's mouth on her nipple was enough to send Brooke over the edge, so she could only imagine how it'd feel when it was her mouth between her legs.

And she had no idea how much longer she could wait for it.

She tanged her hands in Peyton's hair and began to push downward.

"Peyton, baby, please."

Peyton moved her lips from Brooke's nipple and looked into her eyes.

The look on Brooke's face was almost painful.

"Please baby."

"For you, Brooke Davis, anything." Peyton whispered, then she was removing Brooke's boy-shorts so the brunette was naked.

"So beautiful." Peyton breathed as she nervously reached out to touch her girlfriend for the first time.

"Mmmm." Was all Brooke could manage as she felt Peyton's fingers for the first time, then she gasped when she felt her fingers push into her.

She was so wet, and she knew that the smirk currently plastered across Peyton's face was because of that.

"I want you so badly it hurts, P Sawyer, I'm so unbelievably wet." Brooke moaned as she began to thrust her hips, meeting Peyton's fingers.

Peyton leaned in and began to kiss a trail from Brooke's belly button to her clit as she continued to finger her, and Brooke began to buck her hips even more.

Taking the hint, Peyton attached her mouth to Brooke's smooth, wet, centre, and the moan Brooke let out could have brought the roof down.

After some experimentation, Peyton found that Brooke's preferred technique was feeling Peyton's tongue swirling on her clit, while she slid her fingers in and out of her with force, and before long, her walls were squeezing Peyton's fingers as the brunette climaxed.

"Oh yeah, I'm coming baby, I'm coming P Sawyer!" Brooke said as her orgasm burst through her, her hands keeping Peyton's head in place, and when she finally came around, she feel against the bed in euphoria, allowing Peyton to move up her body again, gently kissing her lips before collapsing onto the bed beside her.

"Wow, the radio game is _always_ right." Peyton said, slightly breathless, and Brooke laughed, pulling Peyton in to lay against her chest.

"That was so unbelievable and completely worth the wait." Brooke said with sincerity, leaning down to kiss the top of Peyton's head.

"It really was. I'm glad we waited, but I definitely won't be waiting to do it again." Peyton giggled slightly, and Brooke nodded her head in agreement.

"No, definitely no more waiting. But you were definitely worth the wait…In every sense. I love you so fucking much, baby." Brooke said, rolling over so she was hovering above Peyton again.

"God, I love you too," Peyton breathed, then she was pulling Brooke into her again, attaching their lips in a hungry kiss.

* * *

**Reviews are fun…**


	17. Chapter 17

**Apologies for the lack of updates, life gets in the way… But my college project is all done now, go me! Now it's just a waiting game for the results.**

**Anyway, more time jumps, because they work :)**

* * *

2 months after Charlotte…

"So what brings you by, today, Brooke?" Haley asked Brooke, at yet another of their meetings in Haley's class room. Although this time, Peyton wasn't at therapy, she was done with that now and back to her usual self.

"Can't I stop by to see my favourite teacher?" Brooke said, her hand on her heart, pretending to be offended, and Haley raised an eyebrow at her and laughed.

"Well, when you show up in my class during my free period, it's usually because there's something on your mind regarding that beautiful girlfriend of yours. See example 'I want to fuck her so bad, Haley'." Haley said, mocking Brooke slightly, to which Brooke stuck her tongue out at the smaller brunette. "Anyway, what's on your mind this time?"

"Well…" Brooke started, reaching into her bag and lifting out a small, black, velvet box.

Haley's eyes widened.

"Haley James Scott, will you marry me?" Brooke said in a loud voice, extending the opened box to Haley in an overly exaggerated fashion, letting her see the ring inside.

"Dude, that is so creepy on so many levels!" Haley exclaimed, laughing through her words.

Brooke laughed, then closed the box and held it in her hands. "I sure hope Peyton doesn't give me the same answer…" She said nervously.

"You're going to do it?" Haley asked with excitement.

A few weeks earlier, Brooke had mentioned to Haley that she was thinking of proposing to Peyton, and Haley had squealed with excitement and told Brooke she should do it, because she knew Peyton would definitely say yes.

But after that, she hadn't heard any more about it, until then.

"I am, I'm just finding it hard to find the right moment, or the right words." Brooke said quietly.

"Well, I've never proposed before, I had a guy to do that for me, so I don't exactly know correct procedure. But, what I do know is that a proposal doesn't have to be this big, romantic, show, you know? It can be small, and it doesn't even have to be planned. I believe that you'll know when the moment is right. So, hold that ring on your person at all times, and when you feel like the moment is right, don't second guess it, just open that little velvet box, and ask your girl to marry you." Haley said with conviction and sincerity.

"You really think so?" Brooke asked.

"That's how Nathan did it, both times, it was just me and him, doing normal couple stuff, and he just asked me, and the first time we'd only been together for a few weeks, what does that tell you?" Haley smiled.

"That Nathan Scott's a lucky bastard." Brooke laughed.

"Well yeah, that too. But know, it means that simple is effective, every time."

"Yeah, maybe you're right. Anyway, I have to go, I'm meeting the love of my life for lunch, and you know how cranky she gets when she's hungry."

"Yeah yeah, get out of here." Haley laughed, as she watched Brooke retreat out the door.

. . .

"Oh my god, pie is seriously like the best food ever invented, like ever!" Peyton said, her hands on her full stomach, as she flopped back against her chair, having just finished her dessert.

"Oh baby, you are so elegant when we go out to eat." Brooke said, politely wiping her mouth a napkin, and placing it on her empty plate.

"Don't care, pie is soooooo good!" Peyton laughed. "I need a nap now."

"A nap huh?" Brooke laughed.

"Or sex, or more pie, or sex _and_ pie!" Peyton giggled a little more loudly than she should have.

"Peyton, shhh…" Brooke said, laughing along her girl.

Those were the moments when she realised how much she loved Peyton. When the blonde would say and do silly things like that, the love Brooke felt for her would slam into her, knocking the wind out of her.

Suddenly, Brooke felt like it was the right moment.

She reached across the table and took Peyton's hand in her own.

"I'm so completely and unbelievably in love with you." She said, her voice laced with sincerity and love.

Peyton looked into Brooke's eyes and she could see into the brunette's soul.

"I love you so much, too, Brooke…" Peyton started, but before there moment could really start, it was broken by a waiter clearing their plates.

"How was everything for you, this afternoon?"

"Delightful, thank-you." Brooke smiled, "Now where were we?"

"Umm…" Peyton started, then her phone began to ring in her purse. 'Peyton Sawyer…'

'Oh my God, Mia that's great. Okay, um, I'm just finishing up lunch with Brooke, then I'll be right over, I can't wait to hear it!'

"That was Mia, she finally finished the last song for her new album, I got to get over there and hear it." Peyton said excitedly, and Brooke smiled. Peyton and Mia had been working on the song for a long time and finally finishing was a big deal.

Her proposal would have to wait until another time, the moment was lost.

"Okay baby, go hear that song, and I will meet you at Haley's for dinner." Brooke smiled, and Peyton stood up.

"Okay baby, see you later. I love you." Peyton replied, kissing Brooke passionately on the lips.

"I love you too."

. . .

"Okay, you know I'm all for your beautiful, lesbian, love, but if I have to see any more of that I'm going to gouge my own eyes out." Haley said, walking into the living room, where all the gang were sitting, and Brooke and Peyton were kissing on the couch.

"Come on Hales, it's only you who don't want to see it." Skills laughed, causing Brooke and Peyton to pull apart and glare at him.

"Perv!" They both said simultaneously.

"Well, you make it so easy…"

"Anyway, Brooke, will you help me in the kitchen?" Haley said.

"Sure, um, be right there, Hales." Brooke smiled, then leaned in to kiss Peyton again, letting her hand discreetly brush her boob, only it wasn't very discreet at all.

"Boob graze, I just saw a boob graze!" Skills exclaimed in accomplishment, to which Peyton threw a cushion at him.

"Shut up, pervert!"

. . .

"So… have you thought about what I said earlier?" Haley said, sitting up on the counter in the kitchen.

The food was still cooking, she didn't need any help at all, she just wanted to talk.

"I almost did it, in the restaurant at lunch time, but Mia called about her song, and Peyton had to leave…" Brooke explained.

"Oh my God, really? So it will be happening soon?"

"Yup, as soon as I get the chance. I just really want her to be my wife, you know." Brooke smiled.

"And she will be." Haley smiled, but before Brooke could respond, Peyton walked through the door with empty beer bottles in her hand.

"I'm on beer duty." She shrugged.

. . .

"Oh shit Brooke, oh my god, that feels so good." Peyton moaned, her head thrown back, her hips arched off the bed, as Brooke lay between her legs, eating her out.

"Yes, oh yes, I'm gonna come!" Peyton moaned even louder, her hips beginning to buck forcefully.

"Mhmm," was all Brooke could hum in response as her mouth worked her girlfriend's clit.

Brooke continued to lick her clit until Peyton was shaking and coming, then the blonde collapsed against the bed in post-coital bliss.

"Someone enjoyed that…" Brooke giggled as she climbed back up Peyton's body and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I sure did, all that was missing was a big huge piece of pie." Peyton laughed.

"Pie huh?"

"Pie."

Brooke was laughing and looking into her girls eyes, and she felt it again.

That moment.

And she had to grab it before it passed.

"Marry me."

Peyton's eyes widened.

"What?"

"I mean it. I love you Peyton, more than I ever thought I could love anyone. I want to spend my life with you, like this…" Brooke started.

"What, naked?" Peyton giggled.

"Yes, naked, among other things…" Brooke agreed. "But seriously, I want to be with you forever, and there's nothing in this world that would make me happier than you being my wife. Marry me Peyton Sawyer."

Peyton had tears in her eyes and she looked completely dumbstruck.

"Brooke, are, are you serious?"

"As serious as a heart attack." Brooke replied.

Peyton's gobsmacked expression wasn't fazing her in the slightest, she knew it'd be a yes. If Peyton was going to have a freak out she would have been out the door already.

"Well, can I put a ring on it, or…?" Brooke smiled, looking into Peyton's eyes.

Then everything registered in Peyton's mind and a huge smile appeared on her face.

"Yes, Brooke, yes, I'd love to be your wife. I love you!" Peyton cried happily, sitting up and pinning Brooke to the bed, kissing her passionately.

"You will?"

"I will!"

Brooke managed to move from the bed long enough to retrieved the black velvet box, and she opened it up, and removed the white gold, sparkling, diamond, and placed it on Peyton's finger. "I can't wait to make you my wife."

* * *

**Reviews are fun...**


	18. Chapter 18

"Anybody home?" Brooke yelled, hand in hand with Peyton as they walked into the Scott home.

It was seven in the morning, and the Scott's were in the kitchen, Haley making breakfast, and Nathan and Jamie sitting at the breakfast bar reading the sports section of the morning paper.

Brooke hoped she'd have that with Peyton one day too.

"Of course; its 7am, Aunt Brooke," Jamie laughed as they walked into the kitchen, and Brooke stuck her tongue out at him.

"Hey, what brings you two by this early?" Haley smiled, dishing bacon out onto plates. "You two want some breakfast, there's plenty of food?"

"Sure Hales, food sounds good. But um, we're here because we have some news." Brooke smiled.

"News that warranted being awake and out of the house before 7am?" Nathan asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Well to be honest, we didn't exactly do a lot sleeping, did we baby?" Brooke said, wrapping her arms around Peyton's waist, and Peyton leaned in to kiss her.

"Gross, when I'm eating…" Jamie said, covering his eyes so he couldn't see them kissing.

"Precisely. Anyway…is this the news that I think it is, Brooke?" Haley asked, a wide smile spreading over her face.

"It is…" Brooke started, smiling widely also.

Peyton lifted her hand up to show off the rock on her finger. "We're engaged!"

Haley started to jump and down with excitement.

"This is so exciting, I'm so happy!" Haley exclaimed, running over to pull the girls into a hug. "Oh my God, I'm going to plan the hell out of this!"

Nathan gave them his congratulations too, while Jamie looked on, totally confused.

"Mama, what's going on?"

"Well sweetie, Aunt Brooke and Aunt Peyton are going to get married." Haley explained.

"To each other?" The little boy squinted.

"Yes, to each other."

The little boy thought about it for a few seconds then jumped up and clapped his hands.

"When you get married, can you make me a fancy suit, Aunt Brooke?"

"I think I can arrange that." Brooke laughed.

After eating breakfast, Peyton was helping Nathan with the dishes, giving Brooke an opportunity to take Haley to the side.

"You know how you said about planning the wedding?" Brooke started.

"Yeah…" Haley said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, do you think you could wait about a week, two weeks max, before you start anything?" Brooke asked, and Haley nodded.

"I can do that, but can I ask why?" Haley smiled.

"Well, I'm arranging a surprise for Peyton…"

* * *

**1 week later…**

"Can't we start without Brooke; I can fill her in tonight." Peyton asked, growing impatient as she Haley, and Lindsey sat at the dining table in Haley's kitchen with bridal magazines in front of them.

"Oh I'm sure you do 'fill her in', every night…" Nathan commented, as he and Lucas sat on the couch playing on the PS3.

Jamie was out with Deb.

"Eww, you know what, if you don't have anything productive to say, don't say anything at all." Haley complained, sending Nathan a death glare.

"Peyton we can't start to plan this wedding without Brooke, she'll decapitate us…" Lindsey said, and Peyton nodded her head in agreement.

"You may have a point there."

Just then, Haley's phone beeped. "Well you can stop complaining, because she's on her way."

Haley and Lindsey shared a knowing look, which Peyton missed as she flicked through a bridal magazine.

After a further five minutes, they head the front door open, then Brooke appeared in the kitchen, looking oddly pleased with herself.

"Oh my God, what the hell took you so long?!" Peyton said, throwing her head back in frustration.

"Well, my darling…" Brooke said, moving away from the door.

Then someone walked in, holding an elaborately designed folder full of wedding ideas.

"Did someone say Big Gay Wedding?"

"Alistair!" Peyton yelled, jumping up and screaming with excitement.

Alistair ran over and picked her up, spinning her around.

"I'm so happy, this is so amazing, like oh my god, I cried with happiness when you called me." Alistair rambled as he hugged Peyton, then he put her down and held her at arms-length. "My girl is back. You look good, princess." He finished, and Peyton blushed.

"Well Brooke was amazing…" Peyton started, but Alistair cut her off.

"Oh I'm aware. I've been waiting for that call about your engagement since the moment you two left LA?"

"What?!" Peyton said in disbelief.

"Seriously, it's all I heard about in the car on the way back from the airport." Brooke laughed, confirming what Alistair said.

"You knew?" Peyton asked Alistair softly, smiling.

"I always knew, honey, even way back during the internship. I'm the ultimate gay, my gaydar is on point, and from the minute I met you, I knew you were a big huge lesbian, it was only a matter of time." Alistair pointed out, and Brooke burst into hysterical laughter while Peyton raised her eyebrow.

"You know, if anyone else said that it would sound incredibly offensive, but you somehow manage to make it sound so… loving."

"Well sweetie, you're marrying a girl, so…"

"I'm so happy to see you… you big huge asshole." Peyton laughed, and Alistair pulled her in for another hug.

"I missed you."

"Well look at you, nice to see you not looking like something from The Exorcist." Carl said jokingly, poking his head around the door after parking up Brooke's car.

"Oh we're making jokes about it now?" Peyton asked, the smile on her face showing that she was joking too.

"You still owe me a lamp." He laughed, and Peyton tilted her head at him.

"Hi Carl…"

Carl walked over and pulled Peyton into a hug. "You remember to thank that girl of yours tonight. But don't thank her too loudly, because Al and I are sleeping in your guest room…" Carl winked.

"Oh, I seem to recall those times I stayed over at yours back when I lived in LA, and I had to sleep with toilet paper in my ears to drown out the noise. Mmhmm, my revenge is going to be very sweet indeed…" Peyton winked back, and Carl laughed. "Anyway, let's get you two introduced to everyone."

. . .

"Thank-you so much for the most amazing surprise baby, I love it…" Peyton said, getting Brooke alone in the kitchen.

"Well I'm glad you like it. And I thought you'd like having Alistair around to plan your wedding, because he is sort of your best friend now…" Brooke smiled.

"Sort of?"

"Well, through process of elimination. I mean, I was your best friend, but I'm your fiancé now, so…"

"I am happy he's here, especially since the last time I saw him wasn't exactly in happy circumstances."

"Those circumstances brought us together."

"'They did, and I'm very glad about that, because I can thank you for my surprise in my own, special, intimate way…" Peyton said seductively, rubbing her hands over Brooke's ass she pinned her against the kitchen counter.

"Oh really, and what did you have in mind?" Brooke smirked.

"Well…" Peyton began, sliding her hands around to Brooke's hips and popping the button of her jeans.

"In here?!" Brooke exclaimed in a hushed tone.

"In here…" Peyton confirmed, attaching her lips to Brooke's neck as she slid her hand into her pants.

"P Sawyer, you're so dirty." Brooke giggled, then faltered as a moan came over her when she felt Peyton's hand cup between her legs.

"Uh huh." Peyton muttered as she continued to kiss her neck, then she pulled away and smirked when she pushed two fingers inside of Brooke and the brunette let out a surprised gasp. "You like that, baby?"

"Always." Brooke said, resting her elbows on the counter and throwing her head back.

Peyton withdrew her fingers and slammed them back in again, then began to pump Brooke at a steady pace.

"That's good, oh my God that's good." Brooke began to utter over and over again, and Peyton attached her mouth to Brooke's to make sure the brunette didn't get any louder.

They kissed hungrily, Brooke hands wrapping around Peyton's neck, as Peyton continued to steadily make love to Brooke with her fingers.

Pulling away from their kiss, Brooke rested her head against Peyton's and whispered against her lips. "Harder baby, make love to me harder."

Peyton didn't need telling twice. She attached her lips to Brooke's again knowing the brunette was about to get loud, then she withdrew her fingers completely, slamming them back in with such force, the brunette bit down on Peyton's lip.

Peyton smirked through their kiss.

That was exactly the reaction she wanted.

She then proceed to 'thank' her girl so hard it felt as though the entire kitchen counter was shaking along with Brooke's body.

"Fuck Brooke, you're wetter than I've ever felt!" Peyton said, breathless from their activity.

"It's you baby, it's all you!" Brooke said, 100x more breathless than Peyton, as the blonde brought her to the very edge. "Oh God Peyton, you can't stop, I'm gonna come!"

Peyton loved to hear those words from Brooke, those husky tones alone were enough to send Peyton close to the edge too.

She leaned in and whispered seductively in Brooke's ear… "Come for me, fiancé."

Then Brooke let go, and her strong orgasm ripped through her entire body.

"Oh Peyton, that was amazing!" Brooke said, her voice almost full of raw emotion, as she rested her head on Peyton's shoulder, still delirious.

"Mmhmm," was all Peyton said, as she ran her hand through Brooke's hair.

"You're turn, baby." Brooke whispered, moving to pop open the button of Peyton's jeans, but Peyton's hands stopped her.

"When we get home you can repay the favour all night long if you want to, but right now, I think we should get back out there."

"Maybe your right." Brooke conceded, but before they went back into the living room to join their friends, she pulled Peyton in for a passionate kiss.

"I love you, baby."

* * *

**Review please and thanks**


	19. Chapter 19

The Wedding…

"Brooke, can I come in?" Haley knocked gently on the door to Brooke's room.

The wedding was being held at a luxury hotel in the countryside; the ceremony being performed outside in the gardens and the reception being held in the hotels function suite.

It was only minutes until the ceremony, and Brooke was standing in front of the mirror in her room.

"Come on in, Hales."

Haley opened the door, and stepped in quietly.

"Oh Brooke, you look beautiful."

Her dress was big, white, sparkly, strapless, and very, _very_, Brooke.

Her make-up was natural, and her hair was up in a bun.

"I know, I make a beautiful bride…" Brooke laughed, only slightly smugly.

"So, you ready to do this?" Haley smiled, and Brooke looked herself over in the mirror again before turning around to answer her.

"Definitely," Brooke smiled, "and speaking of beautiful brides, have you seen mine?"

"I have… and she looks very, _very_, beautiful."

"She always does. I miss her…" Brooke pouted.

"Just think, when you see her out there, it will make this week you've spent apart so worth it."

"The honeymoon suite is what will make it worth it." Brooke smirked.

"Seriously, do I have 'tell me too much info' tattooed over my forehead?!" Haley exclaimed, laughing. "You're lovely bride to be said the exact same thing."

"Did she really…?" Brooke smiled, intrigued, until the knocking of the door cut her off.

Haley opened it, and a wide smile spread across her face.

"Mr Sawyer!"

"Haley, how many times have I told you over the years, call me Larry." He laughed.

But before Haley could respond, Brooke cut in.

"Papa Peyton!"

Haley excused herself and left the room, leaving Brooke and Larry alone.

"Well Brooke Davis, look at you…"

Brooke looked down and blushed.

This was Peyton's father, but he was no longer just her best friends Dad, who took her in when she had nothing back when she and Peyton were in high school. He was now the love of her life's father, her father in law, and even though she'd known this man since she was eight, she was now very anxious about what he thought of her, and if he approved of her.

To say she was nervous was an understatement.

There was a short silence, until Larry spoke again.

"In the fourteen years I've known you, this is the quietest I've ever saw you," he laughed.

Brooke laughed, but her nervousness was very evident to Larry.

"I came to see you because there are some things I wanted to talk to you about before you go out there and marry my daughter." Larry said, sitting down on the couch in Brooke's room.

Brooke suddenly found her voice.

"Larry, Mr Sawyer, Larry, I know mine and Peyton's relationship was unexpected, but I want you know that however unexpected it was, I love her so much…" She started, sitting down next to Larry on the couch, but she stopped talking upon seeing the amused look on Larry's face.

"Unexpected?" Larry laughed. "Here, read this." He said, handing Brooke a bounded bundle of papers.

"Last will and testament of Lawr.… Larry, why the hell are you giving me a Will on my wedding day? Morbid much!" Brooke laughed.

"Read it, there is a point to it."

"Are you dying?!"

"No, I'm not dying! Just read it!"

Brooke read over it and discovered that Larry had opted to leave everything he had to her and Peyton jointly, and to any grandchildren they gave him together.

"You're giving everything to us?" Brooke asked.

"Yes, but that's not what I wanted you to see. Brooke, look at the date on it" Larry said, pointing to the date on the paper.

"July 18th 2…" Brooke started. "Larry, this was made over two years ago!"

"Yes…"

"But Peyton and I weren't even…" Brooke said, in complete disbelief.

"Not yet…"

"Oh my God, you knew…" Brooke said in realisation, tears gathering in her eyes.

Larry laughed softly and smiled. "Brooke, I've known since you two were 16 years old."

"Well you could have told us!" Brooke smiled.

"It was when you two first met rake boy…Lucas. You two had this big fight over him, but it wasn't over him, not really." Larry started, and Brooke looked at him, intrigued, willing him to continue.

"After spending half my life on open waters, I'm a light sleeper, you think I didn't notice you sitting outside my house in the middle of the night staring up at Peyton's bedroom window back then?" Larry raised his eyebrow at her.

"Oh God, you saw that?" Brooke asked, embarrassed.

"I did. But when you were sitting outside, Peyton was in her room, crying into that purple monkey that _you_ gave her, and I don't know, maybe it's just a parent's instinct, but I just…_knew_." Larry finished, and Brooke couldn't believe it.

"So, so, you're okay with this?" She smiled.

"I've been okay with it before you two were even aware of it." He smiled. "And when I was asked by my boss to draft a will a few years ago, I drafted it that way, because I knew it would only be a matter of time until you two figured this out. Brooke, over the years you were like a daughter to me. I know you, and I love you, and I can't think of anyone I'd rather have as a daughter in law."

Brooke was now crying freely, dabbing below her eyes to make sure her mascara didn't run.

"I know how we figured it out wasn't exactly under the best circumstances, but I promise you that I will love Peyton, and protect her, and make her happy, for the rest of our lives." Brooke said with sincerity.

"That's the other thing. I want to thank-you for saving her. I saw those scars on her arms, but I can only imagine the pain she felt inside, and I don't want to put a dampener on your wedding day by bringing it up, but I want to thank-you for being there for her, for saving her, and for loving her. Most Dad's, they think that there's no one out there who's good enough for their daughter, but I think you're pretty damn perfect."

"That means more than you'll ever know." Brooke said though her happy tears.

Larry looked at his watch.

"Oh, it's almost time to get out there. But there's one last thing I'd like to ask you before we go; when you were a teenager you were very much a part of my family, and after today you officially will be. You've always been a Sawyer at heart, and I think it's about time that you become one by name too…"

"Really?" Brooke smiled wide.

"I would be very honoured if you took the Sawyer name."

"So I guess this means I don't have to ask your permission to marry your daughter?" Brooke asked sarcastically.

"Well considering you're standing here in your wedding dress, I think you're a little late…" Larry laughed.

"I would be honoured to be Brooke Sawyer." Brooke smiled with sincerity.

Larry nodded and smiled before looking at his watch again.

"Well it's time, I better go get my beautiful daughter." Larry started, hugging Brooke then walking to the door. "And by the way, since you were secretly in love with my daughter, I will forgive the whole 'hot dad fantasy' thing." He finished, laughing.

"Oh my God…" Brooke said, dropping her head in embarrassment.

Larry opened the door, to see Jamie standing there about to knock.

Larry had met Jamie downstairs before he'd come up to see Brooke.

"It's time Mr Sawyer, is Aunt Brooke ready?"

Larry laughed. "Yes she is, Jamie." He turned to Brooke. "You scrub up pretty well, Brooke Davis."

. . .

"Peyton, it's time Sweetheart." Larry said, walking into Peyton's room.

He'd seen her earlier, but now it was time to get her married.

Peyton looked herself over in the mirror before turning to Larry.

"Do I look okay?" She asked nervously.

"You look very beautiful." Larry smiled proudly.

Her dress was simple and elegant; white, strapless, long and flowing, with the most intricate beading around the bust.

Her make-up was natural like Brooke's, but her hair was down and falling in a wavy, only slightly curly, style.

She'd finished the look off with a white gold bracelet and earrings.

Her scars were on show, but she didn't care; they were part of the reason she and Brooke had gotten to where they were.

"I have something for you." Larry said, standing behind her and turning her around to face the mirror again. "Your Mom wore this the day we got married, and when we adopted you, she said she would give this to you to wear on your wedding day." He finished, fastening a delicate, white gold, diamond pendant, necklace, around her neck.

"Dad, it's beautiful." Peyton said, tears in her eyes.

"I know you wish your Mom could be here with you today, but in wearing her necklace, a part of her will be."

"Thank-you, Daddy."

She turned around again and he pulled her into a tight hug. "Just because you're married now, doesn't mean you're not my little girl anymore."

"I'm not married yet."

"As good as. But I'm still here to look after you, and Brooke, if you two ever need anything…"

"I know, Daddy. I love you."

"I love you too, Sweetie, now come on, let's get you married."

. . .

Jamie walked Brooke down the aisle first, dressed in his little tux, and he stood at the alter outside proudly as he waited for Peyton to come down the aisle so he could give Brooke's hand to her.

This was his big moment, and Haley sat in the front row proudly snapping pictures of him.

Then Brooke saw her, the love of her life in a wedding dress, and she took her breath away.

Even more so as she hadn't seen her in a week, seven long nights. They'd texted and talked on the phone, some of those conversations being a little on the graphic side, but they hadn't seen each other, and it had been torture.

Peyton walked down the aisle on Larry's arm, then Larry hugged them both before taking a seat in the front.

Jamie gave Brooke's hand to Peyton, saying "You look very nice Aunt Peyton." Then he hugged her around the legs and ran to his seat next to Haley.

"You look more than very nice…" Brooke smiled wide to her girl, and Peyton smiled back.

"I've missed you so much!" Peyton exclaimed, like it was hurt to keep it inside.

"I've missed you too, and I can't wait to marry you."

. . .

After the ceremony, Brooke and Peyton went off to get some pictures taken while the guests had some champagne and canapés outside in the gardens.

Brooke and Peyton were walking back to join their guests before their wedding dinner, when a voice sounded from behind them.

"We spend so much time looking for love in all the wrong places, when usually it's right in front of us; like, in a best friend."

Brooke and Peyton turned around.

"Karen!"

They rushed forward to hug the woman who had been like a woman to them most of their life.

"Congratulation's girls. What a beautiful ceremony, and you both look so beautiful. You know, when Lucas told me you two were together, I couldn't quite believe it. But seeing you today, well, I can't imagine any two people who are more perfect for each other. I'm so happy for you, so proud of you two." Karen said, a tear in her eye.

"Thank-you, Karen."

"And Peyton, well, both of you really. Stay strong, and wonderful, no matter what life throws at you, because you can handle it."

Peyton nodded and smiled, knowing exactly what Karen was referring too.

"Well, I'll let you two go mingle with your guests. But here's a little something for you two to start your life together." Karen smiled, then she handed Brooke an envelope and walked away to talk to Lucas and Lindsey.

"Well well, she's finally married." Alistair smiled, pulling Peyton, and then Brooke in for a hug, Carl doing the same after him.

"I know! I married a girl!" Peyton said, as if she somehow still couldn't believe it.

"Oh please, like I said months ago, I could have told you this was going to happen _years_ ago."

"Shut-up!"

"Anyway, I'm going to start getting everyone inside for dinner, so if you want to go have a pre-dinner fuck, I'd go do it now." Alistair said, as he was the unofficial wedding planner.

"As amazing as that sounds Alistair, I want to wait until I take my _wife_ to our honeymoon suite tonight before I _make love_ to her for the first time as a married couple." Brooke cut in.

"Aww baby, so sweet." Peyton smiled, leaning in to kiss Brooke softly.

"Okay, well, go kiss a while until I get everyone inside."

. . .

After dinner and the first dance were over, Peyton and Brooke were still on the dance floor dancing together, all of their friends around them doing the same.

Larry was standing at the bar with his girlfriend of two years, when Karen came over to talk to him.

"Larry Sawyer, it's so great to see you."

"Karen! How are you?" Larry pulled her into a hug.

"Good, good! How have you been?"

"Good, this is my lovely lady Friend, Gayle. Gayle, this is Karen Roe, Peyton's friend Lucas' Mom."

After exchanging pleasantries and Karen pointing Lily and Andy out to Larry, they were talking about the wedding.

"I always thought Peyton would have married Lucas." Karen laughed.

"Na, I always knew they'd marry each other." Larry said, talking about Brooke and Peyton.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah, it's always been there, even when they were in high school. Lucas was just the poor shmuck stuck in the middle." Larry laughed.

"He was indeed." Karen laughed also. "I better go see Lily, but you have an awesome daughter Larry, and an awesome daughter in law, you should be very proud."

"Oh I am. It's really nice to see you again, Karen."

. . .

"Oh my God, I've been dying to get you in here all day." Brooke said, pinning Peyton against the wall in their honeymoon suite as soon as they got into the room.

"Oh God, I know! Seven days of 'doing it myself' just doesn't cut it." Peyton said, and Brooke had to stop and close her eyes to see the mental picture of her wife touching herself.

"Fuck baby, that's so fucking sexy!"

"Maybe so, but I need you." Peyton said, then she grabbed Brooke and fused their lips together.

Wedding dresses and wedding underwear where discarded in record speed and they were now on their king size bed, neither girl caring about their dresses which were heaped on the floor, they just needed to be naked together.

They were kissing hungrily, breaking now and again to whisper sweet things or dirty things to each other, hands roaming hungrily.

"We can never be apart for a week ever again." Peyton said breathlessly from below Brooke.

"Never again baby, I missed touching you, and tasting you, and making love to you." Brooke said, then attached their lips again while her fingers began to massage between Peyton's legs.

Peyton bucked her hips up into Brooke, and Brooke smiled against her lips.

"You ready for me to have my fingers inside of you for the first time as your wife." She whispered, looking into Peyton's eyes.

"Make love to me, Mrs Sawyer."

* * *

**Apologies if anyone wanted to see the actual ceremony… I didn't really know how to write it to be honest, and this story was in serious need of an update.**


	20. Chapter 20

"So, you two want to have a baby." The doctor smiled a genuinely friendly smile from his seat behind his desk.

"Yes, that's correct." Brooke shifted nervously in her seat. This was probably one of the most important meetings she and Peyton would ever go to in their lives.

Six months to the day that they'd gotten married, Brooke had randomly announced out of nowhere that she wanted a baby. It had stunned Peyton into silence and the blonde had to sit down with a glass of wine and collect her thoughts.

A baby?

Not even two years earlier she'd been a single girl, not even contemplating being a mother, now she was married, to a woman who was once her best friend no less, and her wife wanted a baby.

To say her life had moved quickly was somewhat of an understatement.

But it was a life she loved, a life she wouldn't change for anything, regardless of how they'd gotten there or what the future held for them.

So making a snap, but very right, decision, Peyton agreed.

She wanted a baby too.

"Okay, well I'm sure you two have researched all of this, and have thought about all of your options. Are you certain that Artificial Insemination is the route you'd like to take?"

"Yes, uh, we thought about adoption, and even surrogacy, but we wanted to do it this way, it just feels more personal, you know?" Peyton smiled. "That doesn't mean we've ruled out surrogacy and adoption though, I mean if this doesn't work…"

The doctor smiled again.

"I think you two have made the right choice. So, let's talk pregnancy."

Brooke and Peyton shifted around in their seats with both nervousness and excitement.

"First of all, do you two have a sperm donor in mind, or would you like hospital assistance with that?" The doctor asked politely.

"Hospital assistance as in choosing from a sperm catalogue?" Peyton asked in her own special sarcastic, condescending way, which earned a nudge to her side from Brooke.

The doctor laughed slightly.

"In layman's terms, yes, a sperm catalogue."

"Well, to answer your question, but not quite in my wife's _colourful_ terminology, we will be needing hospital assistance."

"Okay, great, well I can give you the, um, the…catalogue, away with you today, and you can make your decision and let me know. Although, all going well today, I want to make the appointment for your procedure today too, and you'll have to let us know your donor decision two weeks prior to your procedure date."

Brooke and Peyton nodded. "Yeah, that's cool, totally fine."

"Next thing, have you two thought about which of you would like to carry the baby?" The doctor asked, but Brooke and Peyton could sense a bit of trepidation in his voice.

"Well, we talked about it, and it doesn't really bother us which of us carries the baby, we just want a baby that's at least one of ours, you know?" Brooke smiled.

"Okay, that's good actually, it might make what I'm about to say a little easier for you to hear." The doctor said gently and carefully.

"What…is there something wrong?" Brooke asked worriedly.

"As you two understand, prior to our consultation I read into both of you medical backgrounds, and I found some things that gave me cause for concern." The doctor started to explain, and Peyton looked at the ground and sighed sadly. She knew it was her medical history he was concerned about.

"Look Doctor, I know my medical history isn't exactly the best, but my depression is under control, it hasn't flared up since… since I got it, and I don't see it ever flaring up again. So please don't assume that I won't be a good parent because of it, because I will be…" Peyton began to ramble, but the doctor raised an eyebrow at her.

"Peyton, that's not what I was going to say, I'm perfectly sure that you will be a good parent, most people who have a baby through insemination usually are, because they want a baby so badly. What I wanted to say was…" The doctor started, and they could hear the dip in his voice. It was clearly something he wasn't looking forward to saying.

"Peyton, when you were unwell, you did a lot of damage to your body, mostly through your eating disorder. I know you're very well now, but unfortunately it has probably left lasting effects."

Peyton nodded her head; she had a feeling it probably had.

"Can I ask you, and I apologise if this sounds rude, but how often do you have a period?" The doctor asked.

Peyton closed her eyes and sighed. She could tell where he was going with this.

"Since my illness, only every couple months."

The doctor nodded his head sombrely.

"Just as I thought. I'm so sorry Peyton, but your illness has affected your ovaries, and most likely the rest of your reproductive system, as is common in suffers of eating disorders, and this, unfortunately, affects your ability to have children. I'm not saying you won't ever be able to, because miracles do happen, I've seen it with my own eyes, but the likelihood is that it will be incredibly difficult for you to conceive. I'm sorry."

Peyton felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her.

She couldn't have a baby?

Well, she could, but it would take a miracle for it to happen?

She didn't know what to say, what to do.

Should she cry?

Well she wanted to, until she felt the soft hand of her wife rest on her arm.

"Baby…hey, hey, look at me." Brooke said softly but firmly.

Peyton turned around and Brooke saw the water that had already formed in Peyton's eyes.

Brooke reached up and wiped Peyton's eyes with her thumbs.

"Listen to me. It's okay, we're in this together, we said we wanted a baby as long as it came from one of us right?"

Peyton nodded.

"Well this just means that the decision of who's going to carry the baby has been made a whole lot easier, okay? I love you, whether you can't have any babies, or whether you fire out ten at the same time. I love you, and I will have our baby, and then I'll have another one if we want to, and then maybe even another one after that…" Brooke smiled brightly, and Peyton let out a little laugh.

"We don't even have one baby yet, and you're away at three. Slow down there." Peyton laughed.

"I'll do this for us, okay?"

Peyton nodded again.

"And you're okay, baby?"

Peyton took a deep breath and smiled. "With you by my side, I'll always be okay."

Brooke quickly kissed her temple then they turned to the doctor again.

"So, I'll be carrying the baby." Brooke smiled.

"Okay dokey then, let's iron out the details." The doctor smiled, then they discussed the procedure and set a date for six weeks later.

. . .

Six Weeks Later…

"So Brooke, Peyton, you two know how this works…" The doctor started, only to be cut off by Brooke.

Brooke was lying on top of the bed in the hospital room, dressed in a hospital gown.

"We do indeed…like basting a turkey, right?"

The doctor just laughed and then moved on to the next question. Clearly they did know how it worked.

"It's your choice who can perform the procedure for you; me, or you can have Peyton do it, some people do prefer if their partners do it, it just makes it that little bit more personal."

"Peyton can do it?" Brooke asked confused.

"Oh yes, very much so. It's very easy, like you said, it's just like basting a turkey." The doctor laughed.

"Peyt, do you know how to do it?" Brooke asked.

"Baby, it's not exactly rocket science." Peyton laughed.

"Okay, then I want Peyton to do it." Brooke smiled.

"Great." The doctor smiled. "I can supervise or I can give you two your privacy to do it?"

"Privacy please." Brooke said, and the doctor nodded his head and went to leave the room. "Thank-you, Doctor."

As soon as the doctor left the room, Brooke pulled Peyton down and kissed her passionately.

"You know, they say the chances of getting pregnant are greatly increased after an orgasm." She whispered seductively.

"Seriously Brooke, in the Doctor's office?"

"Why not, he gave us our privacy, didn't he?" Brooke said, matter of factly.

Peyton bit her lip in question then walked to the bottom of the bed.

"Brooke Sawyer, always bringing out the exhibitionist in me…"

Brooke giggled when she felt Peyton's head dip under her hospital gown, between her legs.

This was it.

In only minutes, she could get pregnant, and in three weeks' time, she'd know for sure.

* * *

**I'm going to try and bring this story to an end soon, but not without one last little bit of drama. I want to get it finished so I can focus on other things.**


	21. Chapter 21

"Baby, you hungry?" Peyton asked tentatively, standing at the entrance to her and Brooke's bedroom.

Brooke shook her head no without lifting her head from the pillow, then pulled the comforter over her head.

Sighing, Peyton nodded then left the room, closing the door behind her.

She sat down on the couch and picked up the paper work they'd been given from the doctor a week earlier, and began to flick through it again.

She wished there was something she could do to change it, but she couldn't, and now Brooke was hauled up in their bedroom, refusing to eat, and pushing Peyton away at every chance she got…A lot like Peyton did to Brooke not so long ago.

Exactly one week earlier, Brooke found out that she couldn't have children.

After their first attempt at artificial insemination had failed Brooke wasn't discouraged, so they tried again, and when the second attempt failed, they tried again. But when the third attempt failed, the doctor thought it was best for Brooke to be tested for fertility problems.

And the look on Brooke's face when she was told that she couldn't have children shattered Peyton's heart into a million pieces.

After everything they'd been through, now they had to face this.

It just wasn't fair.

Peyton continued to read through the paperwork they'd been given regarding their 'options', and it wasn't until she felt a tear run down her cheek that she realised she was crying.

She was finding this difficult too, and she needed Brooke as much as Brooke needed her. It was about time that Brooke got out of bed so they could deal with this together.

Plus, it was getting to the point where Brooke really _really _had to eat!

Wiping her tears away and taking a long calming breath, Peyton put the paperwork down then got up and marched back into their bedroom, slamming the door behind her to get Brooke's attention.

"Up. Get up. It's been a week, you can't lay here forever. Get up so we can deal with this together!" Peyton ranted, pulling the comforter back, and squinting when Brooke didn't even move.

"Brooke, you need to eat! Get. Up!"

"Leave me alone." Brooke said quietly and sluggishly.

Peyton sighed. "Remember when I was sick? What did you say to me?"

"I…what?" Brooke asked, still quiet and sluggish.

"When I was sick, you said to me you weren't going anywhere, and you didn't. So you know what, I'm not going anywhere either Brooke, and I mean that literally, I will stand here rooted to this spot until you at least talk." Peyton said with conviction.

Brooke was silent for a few seconds, then Peyton heard her quiet, sad, rasp.

"I can't have a baby, Peyton."

"Baby, I know that, but we have other option, that's why you have to get up, so we can talk about it." Peyton said softly.

"I don't want to get up!" Brooke replied fiercely, her voice loud for the first time in days.

"Brooke…" Peyton began, but she was cut off by a very loud Brooke again.

"I don't want to get up! I don't want to discuss our 'options', because we wanted to do the pregnancy thing, Peyton! One of us was supposed to get pregnant, but we can't do that now because I can't have children! You try feeling the way I do!" Brooke said, sitting up now, tears falling by the time she'd finished talking.

"Brooke…" Peyton started, not knowing what to say. But then she realised that what Brooke needed was some tough love. "You know what Brooke, no, you don't get to feel sorry for yourself. In case you've forgotten, I can't have children either! I know how that feels!"

"Peyton, I know, I didn't…" Brooke began, but Peyton continued to argue back.

"Brooke you have to snap the fuck out of this and be realistic. We have to look at the other options, because sadly, there's nothing else we can do. You're not the only one who can't have a kid."

"Peyton it's not that!" Brooke yelled, loud of enough that Peyton was taken completely aback.

The blonde furrowed her brows. "Then what is it?" She asked quietly.

"I'm not sad about this for my own selfish reasons, I'm sad because I feel like a fucking failure, okay!" Brooke said, still crying.

As if on auto-pilot, Peyton jumped up on the bed and forced Brooke to look at her.

"You what? Brooke why?"

"Peyton we wanted to have our baby that was biologically one of ours, and I can't give us that. It was me who was going to carry our baby, and I can't do it. I feel like I've let us down, like I've let you down…" Brooke explained quietly through her tears.

"No. Brooke no. You could never let me down." Peyton said with conviction and sincerity, pulling Brooke in close to her, breathing a sigh of relief when Brooke didn't try to push her away.

"I…I can't face looking at the other options when I can't give us the only thing we really wanted." Brooke cried into Peyton's neck.

"Brooke, I just want a family with you, no matter how I get it." Peyton tried to soothe.

"But one of us supposed to get pregnant." Brooke whispered, and Peyton just sighed and nodded her head.

"I know."

After allowing Brooke to cry on her shoulder for a little while, Peyton managed to convince the brunette to go take a shower and then come into the living room to have some dinner.

Brooke was now in the shower, and Peyton was in the kitchen looking through some take-out menus.

But she couldn't concentrate on the task of ordering dinner when her mind was still stuck on their baby situation.

There had to be something else they could do.

Medical advancements.

Science.

Something.

Then her mind drifted back to one their first consultations with the fertility doctor.

The day he told her that she couldn't have children because of her illness.

Then she remembered something he said that day;

'_I'm not saying you won't ever be able to, because miracles do happen, I've seen it with my own eyes, but the likelihood is that it will be incredibly difficult for you to conceive."_

It wasn't impossible.

It would take a miracle, but it wasn't impossible.

And miracles happen every day.

Scrambling for her phone, she punched in the number for the fertility doctor and stepped outside to ensure Brooke definitely wouldn't hear her.

"Hi, this is Peyton Sawyer, I..I, um, I want to schedule an appointment to discuss some things with you… without Brooke."

The doctor asked Peyton some questions, and talked some things through with her, until finally deciding to give her an appointment to see him.

"I'd like an appointment as soon as possible…"

"Tomorrow? That would be great. Thank-you so much."

She didn't want to take Brooke, because she didn't want to get the brunettes hopes up. Especially since her plan would most likely fail.

* * *

"Peyton, hello, how are you?" The doctor smiled as Peyton entered his office and sat down on a chair in front of the desk.

"Good thank-you, how are you?"

"Good. And Brooke, how's she doing?" The doctor asked tentatively.

"To be honest with you, she'd not doing great at all." Peyton answered sadly.

"I'm sorry. It's natural for someone receiving news like that though, she'll come around."

Peyton smiled softly.

"So, have you two discussed your options regarding having a child?" The doctor asked.

"That's actually why I'm here…" Peyton answered.

The doctor sat back and allowed Peyton to say what she had to say.

"You told me that it wasn't impossible for me to have a child. You said it would be difficult, but not impossible. I want to try."

"Peyton…" The doctor started, but Peyton cut him off.

"Look, I know you're going to try to discourage me, but I have to do this. I don't care if I have to pay extra because it's going to be so difficult, because I can afford it. I just…I have to try." She explained.

"Have you discussed this with Brooke?" The doctor asked.

"No, she doesn't need any more heartache. She doesn't have to know, so if it doesn't work she hasn't lost anything else. She can use this time to feel better and get used to the idea of adoption, so she'll be open to it if that's what we have to do." Peyton said with an air of finality.

"You sound as though you've already convinced yourself that it won't work." The doctor said.

"I'm not stupid, I know it's going to take a miracle. I'm being realistic. But I have to try. Brooke can't even face _considering _our other options, and to be honest with you Doctor, she's right. I can't consider another option until I know that I've tried _everything_ to carry my baby myself."

The doctor sighed.

He liked Brooke and Peyton.

And he'd love to help them have a child the way they wanted.

But it would be hard.

"You are definitely aware of how difficult it will be for you to have a baby? That it most likely won't work?" He asked.

"Yes. Believe me, I am painfully aware."

"When it's as unlikely to work to as it is in your case, we usually say no, as you can probably understand…" The doctor started, and Peyton nodded her head. "But, I understand why want to do it. So, I'm going to say yes, but I can only give you one shot."

"Oh my God, thank-you, thank-you so much!" Peyton exclaimed happily.

"And I won't charge you any extra for it, that would be a little unfair…"

They spend the rest of the appointment ironing out details and Peyton got a date for her procedure, which was scheduled for only days later.

* * *

**Review, it's fun.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Okay, so I kind of lost it with this story, but I'm trying. I'm gonna end it next chapter I think, so next chapter will be an epilogue.**

* * *

_**3 weeks later…**_

Brooke was in the living room watching TV.

She'd gotten gradually better after finding out that she couldn't have children, but she wasn't one hundred percent back to her old self.

She was eating, and showering, and taking care of her appearance again, but she hadn't gone to work in over three weeks; Millie was still manning the store.

"Baby, are you okay? That's been almost every morning for a week, are you taking a reaction to your new meds?" Brooke yelled to Peyton, who was in the bathroom throwing up.

Peyton's depression pills had been lowered to the lowest dose available, and she had been completely taken off of her anti-psychotic's; she didn't need them anymore. But she'd been given Folic Acid pills to aid the fertility process, and as Brooke didn't know she'd gone through the fertility treatment, Brooke had just assumed they were new depression meds.

And Peyton was surprised Brooke had fell for it to be honest, given she'd taken Folic Acid herself at one point.

Peyton didn't answer, but Brooke noticed that the sound of vomiting had stopped.

"Baby?" Brooke yelled again?

"I…I'm going to take a quick shower; I'll be out in five minutes, okay?" Peyton replied, in a somewhat shaky voice.

Brooke turned back to the TV again, but Peyton appeared not five minutes later, her face as white as a sheet, and dry as bone as she'd clearly not been in the shower.

"Peyton, what's wrong, I'm getting freaked out now." Brooke said seriously, shutting the TV off and turning her full attention to her wife.

"I…I…" Peyton stuttered.

"Peyton…"

"Brooke, I'm pregnant!" Peyton revealed quickly, the words coming out so fast Brooke had to ask her to repeat them.

"Come again?"

"That's what she said." Peyton laughed awkwardly.

"Peyton seriously, what did you just say." Brooke said, standing up and ringing her hands in anticipation.

"I'm pregnant." Peyton repeated quietly, holding out a positive pregnancy test that she'd been hiding behind her back.

Brooke took the test and studied it, before looking back at Peyton. "How?"

Peyton sat down on a chair; this wasn't how she'd planned to tell Brooke, she'd planned to tell her about the treatment then surprise her with the outcome, but she'd panicked, and Brooke reaction was freaking her out.

"I…I went back to the fertility doctor. I realised that he said it wasn't impossible for me to have children, just very difficult, so I decided I wanted to try, just so I could say that I tried everything. But I didn't want to tell you because the likelihood was that it wouldn't work and I didn't want you to get your hopes up just to be disappointed again. I know it was stupid not to tell you, but I thought it was the right thing to do at the time…" Peyton rambled, but Brooke cut her off.

"You're pregnant…" Brooke whispered, and Peyton simply looked up and nodded.

"You're pregnant." Brooke said, louder this time, and a little more cheerful.

"Yes, Brooke!" Peyton said, getting slightly irritated that Brooke hadn't really said much.

"Oh my God, baby you're pregnant! You're pregnant!" Brooke yelled this time, excitement radiating from her voice as she jumped on top of Peyton on the chair.

"Oh," She said, moving back slightly, realising she'd just jumped on her pregnant wife.

"It's okay; I'm still good for jumping on for at least another two months." Peyton laughed.

A wide smile spread across Brooke's face as she lifted Peyton's top slightly, and rested her palm against the blonde's stomach.

"We did it, we're having a baby." Brooke said softly, tears gathering in her eyes. "I wish you would have told me that you were having treatment, but I don't care, because we're getting what we wanted; a baby that's biologically one of ours." She finished, looking into Peyton's eyes.

"Does this mean that you're happy?" Peyton smiled.

"We're going to be parents. I'm the happiest woman in the whole world." Brooke grinned, climbing off Peyton then settling in between the blonde's legs and dropping to her knees.

She lifted Peyton shirt again and leaned in to place a soft kiss to Peyton's stomach. "Hey little baby Sawyer, you've made me and your Mommy the happiest women in the whole wide world. I love you so much, and I love your Mommy so much, and I can't wait until you're here and we're our own little family."

"I love you, Brooke Sawyer."

Brooke looked up at her wife and smiled, before proceeding to kiss her stomach again.

Then the kissing moved lower; and kisses turned into teeth grazes, and Peyton's hands found their way to Brooke's hair.

"I love what you did for me, and I love that you're having my baby." Brooke whispered, popping the button on Peyton's jeans, and moving them lower when Peyton raised her hips.

She was never one to say no to Brooke's advances.

"And I love that I get to do this to you for the rest of our lives." Brooke finished, spreading Peyton's legs and leaning her head in to lick the length of her wife's centre.

Peyton let out a hum of appreciation, tangling her hands even tighter into Brooke's hair.

Brooke peppered kisses over Peyton's centre, stopping at her clit to suck it into her mouth.

She swirled her tongue around the swollen bundle of nerves, making sure it was amazing for her pregnant wife.

"Oh Brooke, that's so amazing! I love that mouth of yours." Peyton moaned, heady and breathless.

Brooke continued to make love to her until she came in waves of unmeasurable pleasure.

"This is probably the happiest day of my life." Brooke sighed softly.

And all Peyton could do was smile in bliss.

* * *

**Sorry this chapter kind of sucked, but I just wanted to get an update out there.**


End file.
